


The Moon Will Fall

by JetBlackSunshine



Series: Moonlight [2]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alpha Calum, Alpha Michael, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Alternate Universe-High School, Minor Character Death, OT4-Friendship - Freeform, Original Character(s), Werewolf Ashton, Werewolf Calum, Werewolf Luke, Werewolf Michael, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-13 01:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 125,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11749257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetBlackSunshine/pseuds/JetBlackSunshine
Summary: Who said being in a pack was going to be easy?When Luke and the rest of the pack returned to Rosetta Park they hoped that life could return to some kind of normality. However with a series of mysterious incidents, threats and decisions that could change their lives forever. Will the pack survive or will the pressure become too much?





	1. Life Of The Party

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to The Sun Will Rise, you can read that first. I did add a bit of the storyline from the first book so that it can still make sense if you haven't/or read it for sometime. (Let me know if I make any mistakes though, I wrote this chapter whilst I was still working things out on the last one. ^^;) I'll be posting this at the same time as I do on Wattpad, as this story is still being written. I'm not quite sure how long this will be yet and I still need to add some tags.  
> I'm very excited for this so I hope you'll enjoy it!

_It pushed against the glass desperately trying to find a way of escape. It was useless it seemed. The walls barely budged under their weight. They pushed themselves against the cool metal behind them, before they took a deep breath launching themselves at the glass once more. It was a lie they knew._

_Then it saw it, the shadowy creature; its ferocious teeth clearly evident. A group of boys raced in front of it, their faces drenched with sweat. It_ _bashed against the glass desperate to save them. It even tried to let out a howl but not one of them looked their way. They slumped on the floor feeling useless. Then they saw their reflection in the mirror and the reality dawned on them of what they had become._

********

I tapped my fingers on the window sill as my eyes lead out over the trees sprawling behind us. A small part of me longed to be out there once more, but I didn't have that choice today. My gaze fell to the back garden and the small group congregating there. Music from the speakers and the flurry of conversation from below sifted through the rafters to my ears. I knew that this was for all of us, a welcome back party of sorts even though we had been back for over a month now. Yet, I wasn't interested. There wasn't much for me to celebrate. I turned away from the window, burying my face in my hands. I hoped that it would be all over once I'd opened them again.

I'd moved here with my family to Rosetta Park, and my life had changed drastically as a result. One day in, and I had already landed myself in trouble. I was attacked by a werewolf who gave me a bite that should've killed me. But it didn't, thanks to Calum and his friends Michael and Ashton. They didn't just save my life though, as it turns out the three of them were also werewolves. Even though he barely knew me, Calum gave me a second chance by making me like them. In a short space of time and through a series of events they've become my closest friends.

Calum is the Alpha and leader, and the three of us; Michael, Ashton and myself make up the rest of the pack. This wasn't a choice for any of us, but we've been through so much that none of that seems to matter anymore.

Just as I was getting used to it all, I discovered that my parents were werewolf hunters and in turn found out the real reason we had moved around so much. So naturally they weren't too impressed when they found out what had happened. Without battering an eyelid, they kicked me out of our house. We're still not sure on why they came here, but although we have a treaty with them we're determined to find out.

"Come on Luke, you have to at least come down to the party." Calum sighs as he stands at the doorway of our room.

"I don't feel like it." I mumble, hugging my knees up to my chest. "You're good at making stuff up. Just tell them I'm not feeling well or something."

Calum stares at me for a moment before he sighs, he crosses his arms, "Is this just because everyone else's parents are here?"

He'd got me. I turn and look away. He should have already known the answer to that.

"I'm right aren't I?" Calum asked in a sympathetic tone.

I nod.

When everything had flared up with my parents and the hunters we'd left town for a few weeks, until Calum's mum managed to negotiate a truce with the hunters for our pack and a few of Calum's friends. After making the truce with the hunters, my parents still wouldn't talk to me. Since we'd returned it was hard for me; watching everyone else have relatives care about them still, despite knowing what they were. Whenever I stayed at Ashton's place it was the worst, as I'd been there when he'd finally told his mum and watched her accept him just like that.... or right now when there was a whole garden full of parents and other friends.

Everyone was happy to be back home again. Except me.

I hear Calum sit beside me, he sighs, his tone serious but light-hearted, "You can't let it keep haunting you forever Luke or you'll miss out on things. Like the party for example."

"I know but-" I sigh, looking up at him. I pause, no noise seems to come out, I couldn't find what I wanted to say. Calum looks at me expectantly.

"But?" Calum prompted.

"You're not really going to force me to go down, there are you?" I raise an eyebrow. He better not try to use that Alpha control thing on me. He barely used it, but it was annoying when he did. I'd managed to challenge it once, but I figured that was probably the only time I'd be able to do it.

"If you don't go soon, I might or I'll get Michael to do it for me." Calum replies, when I don't move he nudges my shoulder, "Come on, it'll be fun. Besides Michael and Ashton are down there as well as me, so you won't be alone."

"I don't know Cal...." I frown.

"Come on, you seriously don't want me to call Michael up here, do you?" Calum grins.

I sigh. Michael would carry on silly, and I didn't want to cause a fuss.

"Enough you win," I sigh, "but if I've had enough then I'm coming straight back up here."

"Alright, deal." Calum grins back.

********************

I was done from the moment I reached the bottom step and I was suddenly immersed in the crowd of people. I covered my ears, as the noise blasted in them. I tugged back, but Calum pulled me along his eyes searching the crowd. Why was he making me do this?

"Luke! Finally!" I hear someone call, I could hear fast footsteps racing up behind us. I turned to see Michael, with his now bright red hair standing there. He grinned at us as Calum pulled to a stop. "Cal, how'd you make him come? I thought you said he wasn't coming down?" Michael asked.

"The normal way." Calum rolled his eyes.

"Well actually he told me that if I didn't come he'd call you up there." I added with a huff.

"Good move." Michael cheekily grins. "I wouldn't want to deal with me either."

"Luke, you're here!" A voice yelled, and Ashton soon appeared from another direction to join us.

"Why is everyone so surprised, that I'm here?" I asked.

Ashton sighed, "Calum might have mentioned that you were up moping about in your room, I wasn't sure he'd get you down here."

I frowned, shooting a glare in Calum's direction. Did he really have to tell everyone that I'd been moping? I sighed, the bond probably would've told them everything they needed to know anyway.

"I told you guys I'd get him to come." Calum patted me on the shoulder.

"I'm glad you did." Ashton smiled, "It wouldn't be right without Luke here."

After that Ashton started up conversation with just me, he started asking me about my thoughts on a new album that had just come out by a band that we both liked. It had just come on over the speakers. However, I started to tune out when I noticed Michael pull Calum over to the side of the crowd. I could faintly hear them still though.

"Just so you know, Finn tried to come by earlier." I heard Michael whisper to Calum

I froze, the name alone bringing up a flurry of memories. Like Calum, Finn was an Alpha as well. Whilst we'd been on the run, he'd attacked Calum and forced him over a safe border and into the aim of the hunters. He'd wanted to hurt Calum so that he could talk the three of us into joining his pack. We'd suspected that something was going on between them, but had just put it down to them both being Alphas.

Looking back, it was hard to believe that Finn and I had been friends once, back in Year Seven. He now held a deep grudge against me because my hunter parents murdered his brother and father by setting fire to their house, his mother had been badly injured as well. The only reason Finn had survived the fire was that he had been coming to see me, not realising that we'd moved on.

He'd been quiet these past few weeks, just watching us and giving the odd menacing smile. I couldn't help but think that he was up to something. I remembered him telling me, he'd come back here because of what we were? It didn't make sense, we were all werewolves. He hadn’t made any big moves yet, but we were all being careful.

"Luke, you okay?" Ashton asked, his eyes searching mine. "Did I say the wrong thing?"

I quickly shook my head, only half listening to what he was saying. Instead, I was trying to focus my hearing onto what Calum and Michael were saying though they were speaking softer now.

"Do you want me to get you a drink then?" Ashton asked, biting down on his lip.

I nodded, deciding that it would give him something to do and he raced off quickly. I knew he'd be a little while. So, I turned to look behind at them, but I saw a boy approaching Michael and Calum with dark brown hair with a massive grin on his face.

"Calum!" The guy yelled.

Calum spun around, his eyes lighting up in surprise. "Jayden! I haven't seen you in ages! Mum didn't say you guys were coming."

"Well surprise." He grinned, the two boys hugged. Michael stood by awkwardly, until the guy hugged him as well. "Mikey, you're here too. It's so good to see you."

The boys' eyes searched around them, he sniffed the air for a moment, before his eyes fell on me.

"You one of Calum's too?" The newcomer asked, with a friendly smile.

"Yeah, this is Luke." Calum said, when I didn't respond.

I nodded, suddenly nervous, "Hi, it's uh, nice to meet you...uh..."

"Jayden." Calum prompted.

"Jayden." I added quickly.

"Oh yeah, so you're the one with the hunter parents. Rough luck really." Jayden nodded, "You're lucky you have this guy as you're alpha though." He wrapped his arm around Calum.

We ended up talking for a little while after that, there pack lived about an hour away from us. He seemed like a nice guy, and it didn't take long for me to realise that he'd known Calum for quite some time.

"Calum, I have someone to introduce you to as well. Come and meet them." Jayden finally said before he started to drag Calum away. He sent Michael and I back a hopeless look.

I felt a little bad, should we be doing something? I sent a worried look in Michael's direction.

"They've known each other a while." Michael laughed. "Jayden's always been like that. Calum's like a little brother to him."

"So, is he a natural born too then?" I questioned judging by the familiarity and the fact that he was also a werewolf.

"Yeah he is." Michael nodded, "I think Calum's known him since they were little though. Jayden knew Cal was going to be a werewolf before he did, I think."

I nodded.

"I'll be back." Michael said, "I'm heading by the drinks table. Do you want me to get you anything?"

I frowned, "Well Ashton's already gone to get me a glass of water..."

Michael nods, "Got it."

As Michael, winded his way into the crowd. I realised that I'd gone from being surrounded by the entire pack to being on my own again. I sighed, looking through the crowd of people for Ashton. This was why I hadn't wanted to come down here yet. I'd known this would happen. I let out a loud sigh.

"So, you're Luke, huh?" I hear a voice ask.

I turned to see a guy around my age standing behind me. He had blonde hair and deep green eyes.

"Uh, yeah I am."

He smiled, "I was just curious about Calum's new wolves. I didn't mean to freak you out. Sorry."

"Who might you be?" I asked, unsure about someone knowing I was werewolf. I wondered if he was one of Jayden's pack. I'm sure, he did have one considering Michael had said he was a natural born and dragged Calum off to meet someone.

"I'm Sam." He said.

"So, you're a..."

"Werewolf? Yeah." He nods.

"Do you have a pack then?" I ask him.

"Nah, I'm quite happy being a lone Wolf. " Sam smiles, "I don't need anyone else."

It was so different from talking to Jayden, he was a little bit shorter, probably a year or two youngers than us when I looked at him. He didn't seem shy or anything, there was something mature yet, charismatic about him. I remembered that Sam had been the other wolf that Calum had gotten the treaty for. Along with Jayden and his pack. Yeah, I remembered them both now.

"Though if I was going to choose a pack it would totally be Calum's, Jayden and I don't get on that well." The boy added.

I was tempted to ask why that was. The boy had frozen his eyes on something behind me. I felt a tap on my shoulder, a few seconds later.

"Luke." Ashton spoke, as he passed me over the drink. His eyes fell on Sam, "Oh, hey. You must be Sam."

"You're the other new one, Ashton, right?" Sam queried, with a wary look at Ashton.

Ashton nodded, and the boy seemed to relax.

"Anyway, it's lovely to meet you Sam, but Cal's mum wants the four of us over at the back gate." Ashton said, with a glance at me, "Bonds down so I had to come and tell you myself."

I nodded, "It was nice to meet you Sam."

"Yeah, see you guys around," He nodded, already disappearing into the crowd.

I followed Ashton through the people and to the back gate, where Calum and Michael were already waiting. All their parents were here too, I gave a querying look at Calum who shrugged.

"Okay, we have a surprise for you boys." Calum's mother started smiling at the four of us. "Close your eyes."

We exchanged glances but did as we were told. I felt somebody take my hand and, we were lead forward. I was unsure where they were taking us. I sniffed the air, picking up the familiar scent of the forest. It was a shame the bond was down, or I could've asked the others what they thought this all was.

"Open your eyes." A voice spoke.

I opened my eyes. We were standing in front of a small granny flat style place. It kind of reminded me of the cubby houses I'd had as a kid but reasonably bigger. We were in the trees now, but I could still hear the music, so we weren't far from the house. I glanced at the others, unsure what was happening.

"We all thought that now there are the four of you and with Luke moving around so much, that you four might need your own space." Calum's mother explains, "We've had this old shed out here for years, so we thought we could convert it."

"Can we go in?" Ashton asks in stunned amazement.

They nod at us, Michael goes in first. The rest of us follow him. I gasped, there was enough room for all of us. A group of mattresses, and a couch with a television. I noticed the controllers sitting there. It was the rare red one like my own. I guess someone must've brought mine over from Ashton's, where I'd left it.

"Ha, maybe we could call this the wolves den." Michael mused. I nodded, but Calum shook his head. Ashton smiled. I think it might have been three against one on the name.

“Fine.” Calum rolled his eyes, as we walked around the small flat. I was so impressed that they’d done this for us.

"Thank you, all of you." Ashton said, turning back to the parents that were waiting outside.

"We'll leave you boys to it then." Calum's mum smiled warmly. With that the parents dispersed, all of them heading back up to the house.

"Luke's been wanting to leave the party since he arrived. We may as we take a break." Michael spoke, once the parents had gone, "Will we play some FIFA?"

"Alright sounds like a plan." Calum nods.

After we finally got the game to work the four of us started to play. The time flew quickly, I hadn't played the game for a while so it was great to be back playing it.

Suddenly, there was a noise like a distorted howl. It echoed through my head, making my skull hurt. I let out a small whimper, as I dropped the controller in front of me. Allowing Calum to score. Calum let out a cheer, but I noticed his gaze immediately fall back to me.

"Luke, what's wrong?" Calum asked in a concerned tone.

"Can't you guys hear it?" I mumbled, as I covered my ears hoping that it would help.

Calum and Ashton glanced at me. "No..."

Both Calum and Ashton were giving me concerned looks, their gaze flickered over to Michael. I followed it to see him having almost the same reaction as myself. A moment later the noise stopped, fading to an eerie silence.

"I heard it too." Michael said, his brow furrowed as he removed his hands from his ears as I did. "Outside, wasn't it?"

Those words were all I needed. Dumping the controller on the floor, I raced out the den. I felt my feet pulling me outside, an unknown force dragging me further.

"Luke what the heck?" I heard Calum call after me. I could sense the three of them racing behind me. I turned to see Michael on my heels, which was surprise. He made no move to stop me though.

I froze as I pushed through the greenery, my feet landed on the dirt. My eyes fell on the blonde-haired boy lying there. I stepped back slowly. Crashing into the other three who were standing their eyes wide, having only stopped a few meters away from me.

"Sam!" Calum yelled, as he broke out from behind me. He kneeled beside him and frowned when the boy didn't respond. He started checking for a pulse. "Sam! Wake up!"

I was frozen solid, as Calum tried desperately to find out what was wrong, he turned back to us, "Guys, I think he's dead."

"Oh my god." Michael muttered, his face paling.

Ashton already had his phone out. "No way, we can't." Michael said quickly, holding his hand over the screen, "The doctors might work out he isn't human."

Ashton nodded, putting the phone back in his pocket, "Human instincts took over, sorry."

"It's okay. I wish we could call them too." Michael nodded.

Something drew me forward, the same force that had brought me out here to start off with. I could see a symbol traced out in a darker colour of dirt. It was lengthways with a triangle like shape on the bottom, from the triangle a circular shape with a line through the middle jutted from it. It leads to another section where there was a line with a filled in circle. With a plant like design jutting out from it. My hand hovered over it, somehow knowing it was connected to whatever had done this to Sam. I bit my lip, wishing I could understand what this all meant.

I glanced up at the others, "What does this mean?"

Calum frowned, looking over, his eyes slightly marred with tears, "I'm not sure but it means we're in a lot of danger."

"And this isn't the last one." Michael frowned at the words that were written underneath the symbol.

This isn't the last one.


	2. Gloom Boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having some trouble with my internet today, so I'm not quite sure if this will post. ^^;

"Luke quit snoring." Someone laughed as they pushed me on the elbow. I sat up in alarm, noticing that I'd fallen asleep into the dusty book I was supposed to be reading. I frowned into the page, how long had I been asleep?

"If you're going to sleep, at least pretend like you're still reading." Michael grinned from beside me.

"Sorry," I mumbled, my cheeks flushing pink.

"That's okay. Have some more coffee." He suggested pushing the jug over towards me. I nodded, pouring myself another cup. Who knew how many I was up to for the day but it had to be a lot. It was a wonder I'd even fallen asleep with so much in my system.

I let out a long sigh as my eyes fell over yet another book filled with pages of various supernatural entities or werewolf mythology. It was all starting to blur into one. Around me, Calum has books strewn open all over the floor, and is sitting in the middle of the pile of them. While Michael and I have taken over the desk. Ashton had to leave a few hours ago, but Michael had stayed to help. I was staying here so it only seemed fair to help. There wouldn't be much worth, being up in the main house with Calum's mum and sister anyway. Things were a bit of a mess up there now too. Sam's death had rocked everyone.

Calum's eyes had been glued to the books since we'd brought them down into the den from the attic in the main house. He was less passionate than he had been earlier. He'd madly flicked through the pages, barely letting the rest of us help. Then I think he'd realised the task at hand was far too great for one person to do on their own, so he'd sorted the books into piles for the rest of us to read. They were all different; there were a dozen or so of Calum's grandfather's journals, other's journals, books Michael had brought over years ago from his hunting days, textbooks and various sketchbooks which included drawings of other creatures and strange symbols.

It was clear that Calum was distraught, and I didn't blame him. He'd been friends with Sam for a long time. Sam was so young, only fourteen. He was too young. Especially when nobody knew what had happened. I'd only been talking to him a few hours ago, but somehow that smiling kid was gone. Knowing that only made it harder.

"I've seen that symbol before." Calum mumbles as he tosses the book he was reading onto the floor, causing it to skitter across the room. "But where?"

"Then how do you know it's bad then?" I ask from the desk.

"I don't know Luke; the body might have something to do with it." Michael rolls his eyes. He sits on the other desk chair back to front with his chin resting on the headrest.

I shoot him a glare, I knew that. A few months ago, I would've said that it was the hunters doing, but we had a treaty now and Sam was well and truly covered by it. So there had to be some other sort of explanation, hence the books and the insane amounts of coffee.

"Besides that, I just do." Calum frowns, "It's the symbol of a group or a wolf pack or something. I can't remember. Whatever it was, I know it had something to do with whatever killed Sam."

I glance at the sketch we'd done of it. It was drawn with a triangle like shape on the bottom, from the triangle a circular shape with a line through the middle jutted from it. It leads to another section where there was a line with a filled in circle. With a plant like design jutting out from the top of it. What did it all mean though?

"We've been searching for hours it mustn't be in any of these books." I say with a defeated look at the others. I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep this up.

"That's what worries me. We've been through most of them." Calum frowned, his eyes glazed over the sketch we'd made of it before we'd been forced to clear out the area, "I wish we knew what it meant."

"Calum can you flip the drawing upside down?" Michael frowns, his eyes scanning over the sketch.

"Like this?" Calum questions doing as Michael had instructed. The image looked slightly different but overall just the same.

Michael looks at the symbol, and nods, "You know, when you put it on that angle, I actually think I might have seen that symbol as well......"

Calum seems interested by this. "And-?"

"Like you I have no idea where it's from either." Michael sighed slumping down on to the top of the head rest.

Calum and I let out a groan. It was no use recognizing the symbol but no one knowing what its meaning was. We weren't getting anywhere.

"Well if we can't make it out from the image, there's still one more clue we have." Calum frowns, as he places the paper back on the table. I wonder what clue he means until his attention falls directly on Michael and me, "What was it the two of you heard exactly? I mean, why were you the only two who could hear it right before we found Sam?"

Michael and I glance at one another. That was the strangest thing, perhaps even more so than the symbol.

"It was like a distorted howl." I spoke quickly. Nervously my eyes flickered on Michael unsure whether we'd heard the same thing.

Michael nodded, "Yeah, it was high pitched too like it was going right through my head."

I nodded. That had been exactly what it felt like.

Calum looked baffled, "Hmmm...that rules out hunters I think, last I checked they don't howl. Besides, the treaty should put them in the clear. It has to be something else."

"Well it can't be a usual sound. Otherwise Ashton, Jayden's pack and yourself would've heard it." Michael deduced. "It was so loud, you couldn't have missed it."

"Then what did it come from?" I asked, frowning at Michael. There wasn't much left, if it was something only we could hear.

"I don't know. I guess we'll need to keep looking." Michael moaned, his face falling into his hands, "It must mean something."

Calum tapped his fingers on the book, seeming to think about this. "For sure. The only sign of it is an Alpha hearing something, but not the rest of the pack. Neither of you are Alphas so it doesn't make sense. Even if you somehow were, I would've heard it too."

I sighed, none of this was adding up. Why couldn't the others hear it? I'd heard it clearly, it had felt so much like if you were to stand in front of a loud speaker at a concert. So, it hadn't been an easy thing to ignore. 

"You know, maybe we can test it somehow." I spoke, Calum and Michael both nodded in interest. I bit my lip, suddenly nervous at the attention they were giving me, "We could try using one of those high-pitched hearing tests. I'm sure there would be plenty on the internet." I could remember in primary school, when everyone was obsessed with these high-pitched ring tones that only kids could hear but not adults. I bet those would probably hurt my ears now more than they had when I was younger.

"Good thinking Luke. Maybe you both just have a higher hearing range." Calum quickly agrees. I don't take the compliment to heart to much as I think we were all willing to try just about anything at this point.

"Yeah, like how we're both faster than you and Ash." Michael adds.

"Exactly." Calum nods. "Even that might help us work this out."

Filled with a new sense of purpose, Calum quickly starts typing into Google. He finds one quickly, that's range goes from human level to what animals would hear. He clicks the play button and sharp high-pitched noise starts ringing right through my ears. I let out a small whine as I quickly reach to cover them, noticing that both Calum and Michael do the same.

"Geez, that one's bad." I yell over it. Michael manages a small nod. Calum keeps his eye on the monitor as it clicks over to the next one. Hopeful, I take my hands off my ears and groan, quickly putting them back in place. This happens for the next few until it eventually becomes listenable, all three of us managing to listen to it without covering our ears.

"We're out of human range now." Calum explains after a few more. "So be ready to say when you can't hear it."

A few more of the high-pitched sounds play out. I'm thankful as they start to get fainter. Until I can't hear anything at all.

"I'm out." I say.

Michael nods, "Me too."

"Well I can still hear it." Calum frowns, "We need Ashton here if we're going to test it for real. But if you both can't hear as high a frequency as me than I'm not sure what it is."

"We're back to square one, aren't we?" Michael sighed.

"We are." Calum frowned, "I guess the big question is what do you both have in common or in that moment that the rest of us didn't."

There was silence for a moment as the thee of us considered what Calum had just said. He could be onto something there as well.

"We've both had connections to the hunters? But that wouldn't mean much considering the closest person in my family is my uncle and I don't even think we're related by blood anyway." Michael frowned.

"For sure. Otherwise all hunters would have better hearing." Calum frowned, "Hunters are human though with no super abilities. They have that whole thing about bloodlines but it's not the same. So, no."

"Yeah, we discussed it. Hunters don't howl either." I say, frowning into the desk. "Especially not in a way that only two people can hear."

Calum nods. Michael suddenly grins, his entire face lighting up.

"I know, we both have incredibly good looks." Michael said puffing out his chest and battering his eyelids.

I rolled my eyes although I stifled a giggle, Calum threw the pillow at him. "Not that."

"You've got to admit we look pretty good though." I grin at Michael.

Calum face-palms, "Honestly you two, focus."

We fall into silence. I wish I could think of a way we could test this; the hearing test hadn't proved much but there had to be something. I knew it.

"Maybe we should focus on what's different about us compared to Calum and Ashton?" I suggest.

"Nothing." Michael frowned, as he swung around on the chair. "We're all werewolves, same pack. You became one on a half moon, me on a full moon."

"Hmm, that's the same for me and Ash as well." Calum frowned, "Full moon for me, and Ash was a Half moon. Good try though."

That had us stumped, we fell into silence as we all considered it. There had to be something surely but we didn't have a lot to go on.

"Anyway, none of this might help us out anyway." Calum frowned, "We could be looking at this all wrong. Perhaps whatever it was wanted you to hear it even?"

It wanted us to hear it? I frowned at Calum, that still seemed strange to me. There wouldn't be a reason would there? Michael shrugged.

"That's interesting but it still brings us back to the point, what's different? Why would it pick us to hear it?" I sigh.

"It sounds like we need more research." Calum frowned, his eyes falling back on the pile of books. It seemed so old-fashioned needing to look through them, but Calum had said that there were no details about werewolves on the internet anyway. If there was it might not all be true anyway. There was way too many tv shows and the like to tell the difference.

"Geez, if we only payed this much attention to school work." Michael sighs, flipping over some of the pages "I don't think the teachers would believe I'm doing this much reading."

"What do you mean, I don't believe you're doing this much reading." I laugh, the amount of times I'd already had to save him because he hadn't done the readings or the homework from the night before was ridiculous.

"True." Michael giggled.

"Let's get back to this, okay?" Calum frowned, "We still have quite a few we haven't been through."

With a grumbled sigh, I turned back to the book I was reading. I frowned as my eyes started to droop, hinting at sleep. It seemed I did need another coffee if I was going to get through any more of these. I reached over to the mug that Michael had poured me earlier.

 _'Luke?'_ Michael questioned through the bond, causing me to jump backwards almost spilling the contents.

I turned to look up at him, confused at why he needed the bond to talk to me here it was only Calum, _'Yeah?'_

'Well, thing is that I _just thought of a few things that make us different from them'_ Michael frowned.

' _Like what?'_  I asked, with a suspicious glare in his direction.

_Michael sighed, his eyes shifting on Calum for a moment before coming back to me, ' _Well You know how you managed to get past Calum's alpha control thing?__

_'Yeah?'_  I spoke, how could I forget. Calum had raced out to help Michael with the group of hunters that were pursuing us and he gave Ashton and I a direct order to stay in the car. Both of us had been stuck for the first few moments. Until my will has seemingly overpowered it. Ashton had been amazed and was stuck in the car until Calum had said that he could leave again. Calum had been mad at me afterwards for not obeying and confused too.

Michael sighed,  _'Well truth is, that I've done it before too.'_

I blinked. I should've known, that look that he'd given me right after he'd found out I'd done it. I frowned, Ashton hadn't though because he seemed so amazed when I had. I think we were onto something. _'How?'_ I questioned, wondering the circumstances of him rising against it.

 _'I knew you were going to ask that.'_ Michael grinned and nodded, ' _We'd been werewolves for a few months, Calum had used it on me multiple times before and naturally I'd obeyed loyally. That was until this one day I'd had a massive fight with my mum. Don't ask me what it was about but I didn't want to apologize at all. So, he told me I had to do it. I walked maybe like three steps away from him when I turned back around and told him I wasn't doing it. Calum was annoyed when he realised that he couldn't make me do it. Since then, I've done it but in a way that he hasn't noticed so he thinks that time was it.'_

So, it seemed to be if we wanted to challenge something badly the two of us could do it. After what he'd said, I had a feeling I'd be able to do it again if Calum made me do something that I didn't want to do. I liked that, as initially when I found out about Calum's ability to do that it had freaked me out.

Michael shuffled on his chair, ' _That's not the only thing. When you couldn't walk right before you're first shift, and how you had a lot of trouble the next day...well so did I?'_

I remembered that night quite well still, my legs had felt like lead and I hadn't been able to lift them. Michael hadn't seemed concerned by it, him and Calum had seemed to have seen it before. I'm sure Michael had mentioned the struggles he'd had the day after his first shift. It was normal to a degree but not to the intensity that both of us had experienced.

 _'Do you think it means something?'_ I frowned, seeing his point.

 _'It's a random thought but what if we're somehow like that thing or group?'_ Michael frowned, biting his lip. ' _Whatever it was that killed Sam.'_

I frowned, that was a terrifying theory, it had to be something else. Anything other than that.  _'Nah.'_  I shrugged him off.

Michael was silent for a few moments.

' _Well if we could hear it. There's something strange in that to start off with. We've got to find out if it means something on our own. No Calum, that's for sure.' He thought back._

' _Let's not tell Calum yet.'_ I agree.

 _'Yeah, I don't want to freak him out either, about it until we know more.'_ He nodded, he made a glance over at Calum and sighed, ' _He has enough to worry about.'_

I nodded as well.

I hated hiding important information from Calum, especially when he was in this state. But until Michael and I had some idea what those similarities meant, I guess our best option was to stay quiet. Boy, after what had happened today there was certainly a lot to think about. I knew one thing for certain, I shouldn't have gone to that party. 


	3. Gravity Keeps Pulling Us Back Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few new characters in this chapter! There may be some small mistakes in this one as I haven't had a lot of time to edit, so let me know if there's anything out of place. ^^

It was the first day of a new school term and I was already exhausted. Even the coffee wasn't helping. Calum beside me didn't look much better. Even when we had eventually got to sleep, what Michael had suggested last night had worried me.

The rest of the night when we’d been researching I'd kept an eye out for anything related, but it appeared we were the only ones. It seemed nobody could refuse their Alpha; except for extreme circumstances or when your loyalty had completely shifted to another pack and Alpha. There was nothing recorded about anyone struggling to walk before their first shift. In fact, it had said that a werewolf on their first moon, that their first instinct would be to go outside. As well as find a chance to race outside the first chance they got. I wondered if perhaps I should ask Ashton about it, but didn't want to make Calum suspicious. I figured I'd be moving to Ashton's again soon so perhaps if all else failed, I could ask him then.

Calum was trying to hide it from the other two but he was miserable about Sam still. I'd had to talk him into even coming to school today. It hadn't helped that after Michael had left, the hunters had been over and had loads of questions for both of us. They were working on a cover story for the police and news so no one would learn of the strange circumstances. It made sense, but I could see it affecting him.

"Calum did you and Luke even sleep last night?" Ashton sighed at us as we joined him and Michael at our table that overlooked the football oval.

"Is it that obvious?" I sighed, as I dumped my bag beside Ashton. "We were up half the night researching."

"Did you find something?" He asked with hopeful eyes.

"No." Calum and I replied quickly.

"We tried finding out why Michael and Luke heard it but we couldn't find anything odd." Calum continued for the both of us. I bit my lip knowing we couldn't tell them Michael and I had worked out a few things that were odd. We barely flickered each other a glance as Calum let out a sigh, "Then the hunters came and we had to deal with them and their questions."

"What did they ask?" Ashton frowns.

"Just wanted to find out what had happened, didn't say about Luke and Michael hearing anything though. We just made out we were headed back to the party, when we found him." Calum explains.

Michael frowned, he had been remarkably quiet this morning. He narrowed his eyebrows as he spoke, "About that, I talked to Jayden afterwards he said neither him or the rest of his pack heard it either. They would've been the same distance away perhaps even closer."

"This is getting even stranger." Ashton sighed, "This supernatural business is really starting to do my head in. What does all of this mean?"

There was a collective sigh among the four of us. We seemed to be getting nowhere with this, everything was leading to a dead end. Except one thing.

_'Did you work out anything to do with us?'_  I asked focusing on Michael only.

_'Not really, it's what I just said.'_ Michael frowned.

I sighed, I'd hoped that he would at least have found something, he hadn’t finished though,  _'But I also asked Jayden whether any of his pack had done what we had and he said no.'_ Michael added, _'If he's forcefully told them to do something. They do it.'_

_I frowned, so everything was suggesting that what we had done was odd. Just how odd was it, and why were we seemingly the only two to have done it?_

_'Does Calum even realise how much you've done it?'_ I ask, as I consider how much Jayden would've known about this. If Michael had done it and Calum hadn’t noticed then he wouldn’t realise how often it occurred.

' _Probably not, he only thinks I've done it that once.'_  Michael frowns, ' _But that time was years ago and it's not like I had a loyalty to another Alpha or anything like that, that would explain it. For years beside Calum, Jayden was the only other werewolf I knew.'_

I frowned it was the same for me when I'd done the same thing, the only pack I knew was ours and I felt as if I belonged here. My eyes fell to the wolf charm I'd worn since I'd joined the pack. The band was getting a little worn now but this was my place. It wasn't as if my loyalties had changed. However, I knew deep down, I would be able to do it again. Somehow it made me feel as though I was betraying Calum without even meaning to.

_‘We’ll keep looking Luke.’_ Michael speaks.

_‘Yeah, we will.’_ I agree.

*****

Calum and I had homeroom together, so we walked together to class. On the way there, Calum has already come up with half a dozen theories as to what could've happened. A ruthless pack of werewolves or hunters, spirits, ghosts and a dozen things I hadn't even heard of. He had read a lot last night it seemed. I offered a few suggestions, but it had nothing on his. I guess he'd known about all this a lot longer than I had. I remembered him telling me that he thought werewolves were it for real life supernatural creatures but I think everyone was beginning to doubt that was the truth.

That was when I spotted an olive-skinned girl with long ink black hair, further down the hallway. I noticed she had one headphone in one ear the other dangling precariously from the attachment. I could faintly hear a fast beat thumping from it, I think it might have been Fall Out Boy but I wasn't so sure. She had a piece of paper in hand and was looking at it with a look of total and utter confusion. Her eyes lead up the steps, before she seemed to flip the piece of paper over moving it one way then the other. She looks around, her eyes falling on Calum and me.

"Uh, hi can either of you boys tell me where this room is?" She asked pointing to the creased time-table as she bit her lip. "The girl who was supposed to be showing me around disappeared and I'm trying to work out this mess of a map for myself. How do you get to room, 303?"

We stopped and stood by her. I frowned as I looked over the paper. I had no idea. I don't think I'd even been in that room. I still wasn't sure how all the rooms worked here as I muddled through my first few weeks, the way to tell various rooms far from my mind. Besides these days the rest of the guys were like my own personal timetable they knew where everything was. I glanced at Calum who was nodding, I hoped that was a good sign.

"Oh yeah, just follow this building to the end and take the first left. It even has a sign on it so you shouldn't miss it." Calum explained without further hesitation. I supposed he was the person who was to show me around the school. Not that he'd been this friendly to me on my first day.

"Thanks," She beamed gratefully before she raced away.

"She was cool," Calum mumbled as she left. I slowly nodded in agreement.

It wasn't long before Calum and I resumed our conversation from earlier. He was telling me about yet another one of his theories as to what could've happened. I was surprised with how little sleep we'd had that he could remember them all.

We eventually made it to homeroom, and the teacher had kept us back to talk. Naturally, word had gotten around of something unspeakable happening to one of Calum's friends so it seemed the teachers were determined to make sure we were alright. We'd stumbled through it assuring the teacher that we were fine. When he seemed convinced, he let us go onto science.

When we first stepped back into the corridor, the first thing I noticed was how empty it was. There wasn't a soul around, and all the doors to the rooms seemed to be closed. I suddenly had an idea. I grinned at Calum,  _'Race you there?'_

Calum nodded, his face lighting up,  _'Of course.'_

After a moment's hesitation, the two of us took off down the corridor at full speed. Our first few movements were matched, but quickly my speed began to win out and by the time we were half way down the corridor I had it in the bag.

_'What took you so long, old man?'_ I grinned at him, as I skidded to a halt at the classroom door. Beating him there by a few seconds.

_'I'm only a few months older than you.'_  Calum rolled his eyes, as he pushed me into the classroom,  _'I'll get you next time Luke.'_

I grinned, he was smiling though and that meant my plan had worked.

The first thing I noticed when we entered the room was that the girl was there again. She tugged at her uniform as she talked to our science teacher. My heart went out to her, it reminded me so much of my first days.

I looked around noticing most of the room was already full. Michael waved over to us from our table. Calum and I were both grateful that the teacher was distracted sneaked to our seats to join them. A few of the students nearby gave us strange looks.

"Ooh, look did you see there's a new student?" Michael grinned, once we were seated.

"Yeah, I'm glad she found her way here. The person who was showing her around, ditched her. So, Luke and I had to help her before class." Calum sighed, "She seemed nice, though."

"If it's not another werewolf or hunter, I'm good." Ashton nodded, "No offence Luke,"

I nodded, I knew exactly what he meant. We had enough problems right now with hunters and Finn. We didn't need another one. I doubted that she would be someone we'd have to worry about though. Calum hadn't mentioned her smelling of hunter so that was a good sign.

The teacher coughed and silence magically fell across the room.

"So, as I was explaining to Georgia here, I'll be separating you from your normal science groups for this task and the next few lessons. So, Georgia, we'll work out a proper seat for you later." She smiled at the girl. Her eyes landed on Calum, "Calum as you've been so good with our new students, could you go with her please?"

Calum looked stunned. "Uh, yeah I guess so. Give me a second...."

' _Guys, Help. me out here, I can't go with her....'_  Calum frowned, looking down at his desk, ' _Ashton you go work with her.'_

I blinked, what was Calum doing? He'd just said she was nice. I could feel the teachers' eyes on us, she tapped her foot impatiently. Ashton didn't move though, and I wondered whether I should try and take the spot. I didn't understand Calum's reasoning but I wasn't one to argue.

Michael raised his eyebrows, a small grin on his face, ' _Hmm, what's this about, might I ask? You've worked with plenty of the other new students before.'_

'Well,  _she seems really cool and-I don't know, she makes me a little nervous.'_  Calum blushed.

Oh, he liked her, didn't he? A little bit at least. Of course, it suddenly made a lot more sense.

_'Is that it?'_ Michael grinned, ' _Even more reason you should go over there. Don't you agree Ash and Luke?'_

We both nod.

Ashton grinned, giving him a small push, _'Go.'_

Calum nodded, pulling his bag onto his shoulder, and moving to a vacant spot to join her. He didn't look back, but I could hear him introducing himself in a slightly shaky voice. If I didn't know him that well I probably wouldn't notice the difference. She smiled at him gratefully and I heard her thanking him once again for this morning.

The teacher began to read through the names assigning us to different people in the class. My name came up early, and I saw an auburn-haired girl with her hair pulled into a side ponytail wave at me from down the front.

"I guess I should go join her." I shrugged at Michael and Ashton, when the girl didn't move.

_'You'll be fine.'_ Michael grinned,  _'She's really smart.'_

Ashton nodded.

As the teacher continued to read out names, I slipped into the seat beside the girl. I gave one glance back at Ashton and Michael who gave me thumbs up.

"I'm Kaylee," She grinned, when I didn't talk, "So you're Luke, right?"

I nodded slowly, unsure how to talk to the girl. I'd barely noticed her before now. I felt a little bad. I guess with everything that had happened I hadn't had much time to get to know anyone else.

"You started here last term, right? Then disappeared for ages. Everyone thought you'd dropped out or broken the law or something."

I stared at her in silence for a moment, well that had been true to an extent. I wondered just how the other students must see us. Always hanging out together, then disappearing for nearly a month. I thought of how the guys had seemed when I'd first met them. They were intimidating. Is that how we looked to everyone else?

"There was just some complicated stuff going on." I say, it's not like I could tell the truth.

"I see." She smiled, before she started rambling on about the task and what we needed to do. We began to set up the equipment and it occurred to me quickly what Michael had meant about her being a good partner. He hadn't been kidding. She was a genius.

_'Ooh, this looks interesting.'_  Michael's voice rung through the bond, a few minutes later, _'I think she's flirting with him.'_

I blinked, thinking he was talking about me and I was missing something but when I looked over Michael's eyes were on Calum and the new girl. Sure, enough both were smiling and laughing looking animated.

_'He's doing a lot better than I thought.' I hear_ Ashton agree.

_'Haven't seen him smile like that at someone for a while, that's a good sign.'_  Michael grinned.

_'Do you want those two together or something?'_  I look back at Michael and Ashton with their respective partners. I knew he kind of liked her but this seemed a little extreme.

Michael shrugs, ' _Well, it'd be good for him to have a second chance sooner rather than later. He doesn't talk to or take enough interest in girls anymore after Sophie.'_

Ashton nods,  _'It's good for him, I hope.'_

_'Geez, I hope you too aren't trying to set me up with Kaylee over here.'_ I wondered to them.

' _You know we were just thinking-' Michael grinned._

I pulled a face back at him. He had to be kidding surely.

_'Just joking.'_ Michael grins.  _'You did get a good partner though. I mean look at mine.'_ I glanced behind him, noticing the boy he was working with. Thick dark brown hair, the other boy stared at the page vacantly, as he picked at his nose,  _'I don't think mine even understands what we're doing. You've got the smartest girl in school.'_

I sighed, looking at his partner. Michael was right, I was lucky. Ashton was with another boy who looked as though he had taken over the whole thing. It was obvious to me because Ashton was sitting back letting him do it with a frustrated look on his face, I knew he never did that in our group.

"Should we put the solution in yet?" Kaylee asks, I blink startled by her.

"Uh...yeah sure?" I say slowly, she seemed to know what she was doing at least. My eyes flicker back to Michael who's now arguing with his partner about how the experiment hasn't turned out right. Part of me thinks we should swap partners, I wasn't too bad at science. I'm sure I could've done this on my own if I'd had too, we'd done a similar class to this at my last school.

"You're always around those three." Kaylee sighs, bringing my attention back to her, "Even now you're looking over at them."

"Maybe, I guess." I mumble, turning back to face her. I could feel my cheeks flushing with pink. It was a little embarrassing getting called out like that. She was quite observant it seemed.

She smiled, seeming to not be bothered, "It's fine. I was just curious was all, the four of you seem really close."

"Yeah, we are." I nodded, there was no denying that.

Kaylee smiled. "You're lucky to have friends like that."

"Don't you?" I asked. Now I thought about it, I'd seen her with a group of girls all the time. I was surprised to hear her say that. She seemed like one of those perfect girls who had everything.

She shook her head, "No way.... Friendship drama." She sighed, her eyes flickering over to a group of girls that had almost separated themselves from their partners they were supposed to be working with to chat. I could see the teacher hovering nearby with an unimpressed look on her face.

"Oh, I see." I frowned, remembering a group I'd been in a few years ago. I wasn't sure whether I preferred normal teenage drama or werewolf drama.

"Someone went out with someone else's boyfriend to a party on the weekend, so the girls are in a bit of a flurry this morning," She rolled her eyes, "I can't wait to be done with school and them. None of them will want to be a doctor anyway. Actually, I'll be surprised if any of them make it to University."

"You want to be a doctor?" I asked impressed.

She nodded, "I have to study hard though. The marks to get in are astronomical, plus you have to take another test on top of that."

Michael hadn't been kidding. She must be a genius. At least compared to me, I thought with a sinking stomach my marks weren't too bad but they weren't exactly good enough to be a doctor or anything close to that.

"Everyone always looks at me funny when I say that!" She laughs, her eyes on me.

"No, no. I think it's cool that you want to be a doctor." I smile at her. "I was just thinking how dumb I am. Don't worry."

"I'm sure you're not dumb Luke." She spoke with an eye roll.

I heard the click clack of high heels near our desk, sending a slight shiver up my spine. I could feel someone's presence behind me, and turned to find the teacher standing there with an unimpressed look on her face. I bit my lip nervously.

"There's a lot of chatter going on, I hope I didn't choose wrong putting you both together." She frowned at Kaylee and me. Her eyes piercing into the two of us.

We quickly shook our heads, briefly exchanging nervous glances.

"Then get back to work, both of you." She frowned.

Kaylee blushes sheepishly, "Well in that case, shall we continue?"

"Yeah." I nod, "So what do we need to do next?"

Kaylee grinned suddenly bursting to life about how to do the experiment. I knew how to do it, but she seemed to know everything so I let her take charge. My eyes hovered over to where Calum and Georgia were sitting, they seemed to be still getting on and for that I was glad. I noticed that the teacher had already put Michael and Ashton back together, shaking her head at the other two boys they had been partnered with. Perhaps things hadn't worked out so badly after all. Calum had a smile on his face and for now that was all I needed to see.


	4. In The Mourning

A few days later, we make the car drive to Leichhardt Falls. It quickly became one of the most difficult things we had been through as a pack. Well at least in my time in it. We had all somehow felt responsible for Sam’s death, maybe if Michael and I had acted sooner on the noise, maybe if we'd walked out earlier.

It was too late now though.

Ashton had driven the hour up the road as Calum had been too devastated to drive. I think the reality was hitting him on what had happened. The researching had been his way of coping, and with no further answers and the rest of our lives possibly on the line there was nothing else left to distract him. A race down the school corridor or working with the new girl in science class hadn't been enough to change that.

In some ways, it felt weird going to the funeral of a boy I had talked to for a few minutes before all this had happened. However, Calum and Michael were going, both having known the boy quite well. I guess for Ashton and myself there was an element of supporting our friends and a level of guilt that we should attend. We had been the ones to find him after all. Like everyone, I disliked funerals, there was something sobering about them how life was so precious. I looked over at Calum remembering how he had saved mine. I owed him a lot for that.

Each of us wore a small piece of yellow, apparently it had been the boy's favourite colour. It distracted from the black that each of us wore.

Ashton pulled into the church's carpark, which was crowded with people. I was surprised, for a lone wolf Sam seemed to have had a lot of friends. As he exited the car, Calum let out a long sigh, Michael placed a hand on his shoulder. Calum weakly smiled back. I knew that this was hitting Calum hard, the way he'd charged into the books straight after we'd found him was proof of that. Part of me was glad that he had been blocking his feelings through the bond. I wasn't sure I could take feelings like that again, the night at Emily's had been enough.

Following the crowd into the church, I wondered just how many of these people knew that Sam was- or had been a werewolf. I guessed that the boy's death having been replayed on the news, with the hunters cover up had drawn out a lot of people. I reminded myself that I needed to be careful what I said to people, we knew the real story not the cover up.

The guys and I took a pew near the back, as we did so my eyes scanned the room. A group of girls and boys, a few years younger than us were gathered on the side of the room, some were crying others spreading around hugs. I figured they must've been school friends of his. The next group of people that caught my eyes were a small boy and girl in the front row, their hands almost looked glued together as they walked to their spots. Both of their faces were puffy and red, eyes filled with tears. A woman pushed them along, dressed in black and yellow as everyone was, she had long curling blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. She surveyed the crowd carefully, her eyes moving across the room like a hawk. I could've sworn I saw them flash golden for a moment. A faint smile would appear as her eyes fell on people, one of those being Calum. As she did so I could see the resemblance to Sam.

"Is that his mum?" Ashton questioned quietly to Calum, noticing the friendly exchange between them.

"Yeah." Calum nodded, with a sombre expression. "In case you were wondering, Sam's mother is like us too."

That explained a lot I guess. I felt so out of place here, I felt as though I didn’t know anything. A look over at Ashton gave me the impression that he was feeling the same way.

Jayden and three other guys slid in beside Ashton who sat on the end of the aisle. He nodded to us respectfully. There was little of the energetic guy I had met at the party, and I hadn't seen him since. I remember Sam saying that he hadn't necessarily got on with the other Alpha, but it was comforting to see him here too.

From there the whole event proceeded, as it should've. Family members stood up and made speeches. The hardest one to watch had been a girl with frizzy brown hair, she looked about the same age as Sam had been. She'd ended up shaking her head and racing off the stage.

"Girlfriend. Poor thing." I heard Michael mutter under his breath.

Eventually it was over, and quickly a bulk of people headed out the doors. The four of us lingered for a moment, waiting for the crowds to clear. While we waited, my eyes fell on a guy standing off to the side of the room. Arms crossed, was a guy with his dark brown hair swept up. Like most people in the room he wore mostly black with a hint of yellow. He smiled when his eyes landed on us, "Finn." I growled under my breath.

Michael paused turning to me, his eyes following mine. "Shit." He muttered.

"You've got to be kidding me." Calum frowned, "Why now?"

"Maybe if we walk out quickly we won't have to talk to him." Ashton frowned. "There is another door."

"No way, we have to talk to him." Michael scowled, already marching over towards him before anyone could stop him. Calum frowned but quickly followed him. I glanced at Ashton who nodded, the two of us following them. There was no way Michael was going to talk to him without the rest of us.

"Finn? What are you doing here?" Michael demanded, as he pushed through a group of people who shot him filthy looks.

Finn looked back offended as he turned to face Michael, "What?" When Michael continued to stare at him, he added, "I knew Sam. He was a good kid. Used to run into him out in the forest for a while there. Thought it was only right I came."

The four of us frowned. This was all a little too suspicious.

"You had something to do with it. Didn't you?" Calum growled, standing next to Michael and glaring Finn down, "Quit dodging."

There was a look of genuine confusion, on his face. I pulled back on Calum's shoulder, silently begging him to calm down. I could see the eyes of a few nearby people on us and I didn't want anybody to be suspicious of us. If anyone saw someone's eyes flash golden we could be in a lot of trouble.

"No?" Finn muttered. "What the heck are you talking about Calum?"

"You tried to kill me." Calum frowned, lowering his voice, "I wouldn't put it past you. Something supernatural did this, don't think I don't know that you were hanging around there that morning. The evidence is pointing strongly towards you. Besides you haven't been at school all week, don't think I haven't noticed."

Finn frowned, "For starters on Sunday I was just finding out why the placed reeked more of wolf than usual. Especially a bunch of wolves I didn't recognise," He shrugged, as his eyes fell on Jayden and his pack who were talking on the other side of the room, "It was just those four though. What makes you think it was me?"

There was a deep sigh amongst the four of us. As we exchanged glances. What were we going to say?

"We think something supernatural, werewolf or possibly even hunter had something to do with it. The only clue we have is a symbol and something that said that this wasn't going to be the last one." Michael said.

"Not the last one." Finn echoed with a concerned look. He shrugged, "Look means nothing to me, someone was probably just out to get the kid."

Calum groaned, "We're trying to find answers Finn. A werewolf was murdered by some unknown force. Even if you don't know anything. There's the five of us in Rosetta Park. There's a chance whatever happened to Sam is going to happen again to one of us. That includes you." Calum said.

Finn froze at that. "Wait so you're saying someone or something is killing werewolves?"

"Possibly." I said, "And we don't think it's the hunters. Sam was covered by our treaty, he shouldn't have gotten hurt."

Finn frowned, he remained in silence for a few minutes before letting out a sigh, "Don't expect me to play happy werewolves with you boys, especially not you Luke, but I'll help you find out what it is that did this. I did like Sam. I don't want anything to happen to Emily or Pip either."

I hadn't heard those names for a while. I guess Finn really had cared about them. Pip would only be a few years younger than Sam had been. He had a point, more people that could be hurt by this than just our pack. I was starting to believe that perhaps Finn didn't have anything to do with Sam's death after all. What was wrong with me? He'd been one of my first suspects and now he was pushed incredibly far down the list.

"So, if my interrogation is over, can I leave?" Finn asked.

Michael and Calum still were scowling at him, but both Ashton and I nodded. Finn took off into the crowd before either of them could say anymore.

"Why did you let him go?" Michael frowned, turning back to Ashton and me with an almighty scowl, "We still needed to ask more questions."

Ashton gestured to the people around us, "Look where we are Mikey. We can't discuss that kind of thing here. It isn't right."

"Ashton does have a point." Calum nods, "We'll try and get more out of him at school." Everyone nodded in agreement, but Calum continued, "Though we all need to keep our eyes on him. I don't trust that he knows nothing about this. His heart rate sped up when we started questioning him, he was more than a little uncomfortable about talking to us."

"I didn't even notice." Michael frowned, "But that is suspicious. Words mean nothing, he could've been lying."

I nodded, watching as Finn dashed through the crowd outside, his eyes darting around him. A few months ago, I would've trusted him, we'd been best friends in year seven after all. Yet after what he'd done to Calum and the rest of us I couldn't be so sure. But, I didn't think he'd sink as low as this. Sam was innocent.

I wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.

"Calum." A light-hearted voice spoke, causing the four of us to jump.

When I turned to the voice, it seemed Sam's mother had approached us. I looked behind her noticing that the two younger kids that had been with her were now with an elderly woman. Her expression was warm, her eyes directed on Calum.

"Mrs. Ellis." Calum nodded in return at the woman, with a tone of familiarity.

"Did you find out anymore?" She asked anxiously. I knew she was one of the few who knew the true story of what had happened, and knew that we'd been investigating what had caused this on our own. I'd heard Calum talking to her on the phone earlier in the week.

Calum gave a sympathetic look at the woman, "No we haven't sorry."

"Thanks for trying Calum." She smiled, after a moment's hesitation. "I really appreciate it."

Her eyes fell on the four of us, "We didn't have a chance to talk properly on Sunday." She smiled at Michael and Calum, "Goodness you boys have grown, it took me a moment to recognise you both," She smiled at Michael's hair, "It's red now I see?"

Michael nodded, tugging nervously at his hair only a moment later.

Her eyes then landed on Ashton and me, "You must be Ashton and Luke, yes?"

We nodded quickly.

"Thanks for coming boys, I know how hard it must've been for you to make it here today after what happened." She spoke, with a fond smile.

The four of us exchanged nervous glances. No one seemed to know what to say in return. There wasn't a lot to say it seemed.

Calum spoke quietly, "We're really sorry for what happened. If there was-"

She shook her head interrupting him, "I mean it Calum. Thank you for trying."

"It's no problem, we all want to know what happened as much as you do." Calum nodded.

She nodded, before letting out a sigh, "Well, I have plenty of people who want to talk to me. So, I'll talk to you all later." With a quick nod from the four of us, she took off onto the crowd.

We stood in silence for a moment. That had been hard. I started to think that this was the first time any of us had been in this kind of situation before, but then I thought about Calum with Sophie. Perhaps this hadn't been the first time he'd been through all this. It must've been making this harder for him.

"She's tough." Ashton spoke quietly, after a while, his eyes on the woman working her way through the crowd, "After everything's that's happened I haven't seen her cry yet."

"She's concealing it." Calum sighed, "You're right. She's a very tough woman. Mum and her have been friends for years, since I was born. My mums even told me, you'll never see Sam's mum cry in public,"

The four of us watch in silence as she strikes up a conversation with a couple standing in the other side of the room. Her face filled with confidence. She was brave that was one thing I was certain.

"Does you're mum know her well?" Ashton asks.

"Yeah, she's a nurse too. They met when they were both training, so they've been friends for years. Mum would've been here if she wasn't so busy. Naturally as a werewolf herself, she knows a lot about this though. So as soon as she saw me when I was a baby she knew what I was. She told my mother, and they agreed to keep it a secret from me until I turned thirteen." Calum says, "Her and Jayden's mum have always been like my second mums."

"What about my mum?" Michael scowls. "You practically lived at my place for a while there."

"Yes, well so did you. But yeah, your mum has been as well." Calum rolled his eyes, "My point is I've known her a long time...Sam too."

It was in that moment I noticed Calum loose it. His bottom lip began to quaver and I could see the tears building up in his eyelids.

"It's okay, Calum." Michael sighed, quickly pulling him into a hug, "There was nothing more we could've done."

"I know." Calum mumbled, "I just wish things hadn't happened that way. Like we could've at least tried to do something."

"Unfortunately, we can't save everyone." Michael mumbled.

Calum nodded slowly, wiping at his eyes. "I just wish we knew who or what did this, so I wasn't so afraid of it happening again."

"Calum, it's okay. We're going to find out what did this and stop it from happening again." Ashton nods.

"I hope your right, because I don't think I can handle losing any more friends." Calum spoke softly.

I looked around the church, could we really stop this from happening again? My eyes fell on Jayden's pack who were now talking to Sam's mother. I looked over to the two kids that must've been Sam's brother and sister, I wasn't sure whether they were like us too. I thought of Emily and Pip. Heck, even Finn. There was so much at stake, I hoped for all our sakes that we could find out what this was and stop it before it was too late.


	5. Where The Lines Overlap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for disappearing there for a bit, was super busy! There may be some small mistakes in this chapter as I haven't had as much time to edit, so let me know if you see anything out of place. ^^

By the time Monday morning had come around, I'd moved to Michael's place for the week. There was an air of nervousness as we entered the almost empty school grounds. Michael beside me let out a yawn, and I could see Ashton waiting at the table. I don't think I'd ever been to school so early before, it was unearthly quiet. If I closed my eyes I could just picture myself running through the trees. It was that peaceful.

The bond had been down this morning, so Calum had messaged us to say that he had found something and to be at school early. It was hard to tell from the message but both Michael and I were curious as to what Calum wanted us here for. I hoped that getting here so early was worth it. I frowned though, Calum was nowhere to be found.

"Is Cal here yet?" Michael questioned Ashton, as we joined him at the table.

Ashton shook his head, "No, but hopefully he's on his way."

We waited for a few more minutes, I was beginning to grow worried. Where was he? Michael and I had been concerned that we were running late, but perhaps not.

Just as the three of us began to speculate his whereabouts, suddenly Calum came bounding down the steps at an inhumanly fast speed. With a frown, I looked around to make sure that no one was watching.

"I've got something." Calum declares as he joins us at the table. He quickly pulls out two pieces of paper putting them before the three of us. I noticed that one was the original sketch we had done from the dirt, the other was a chart with all sorts of strange symbols. I frowned, he did have something but I couldn't understand any of it. I looked back up at him in confusion. Michael beside me raised an eyebrow and Ashton was staring at it intently as if trying to work it out.

"These are symbols that I found on the internet," Calum grinned, when none of us spoke. "They're called runes, I think.” We continued to stare at him, causing Calum to let out a sigh, “Anyway, these symbols seem to match up with those listed on here."

Michael frowned, "Come on, are we really up to trusting the internet?"

I frowned, Michael was right. Calum had even been the one to say that we couldn't trust the internet. I nodded, shooting a worried look at Calum. Even Ashton looked a little concerned.

"You don't get it." Calum frowned, "Let me explain."

He smoothed out the pieces of paper, pushing them closer to us. The three of us crowded around it. I looked over the printed page closer, the series of shapes, dots and dashes, beside each symbol were words like chaos, heat and harmony. I frowned I wasn't seeing how these could help us. One glance at both Ashton and Michael and their bemused expressions told me that they were feeling the same way.

"We've been looking at the whole picture, but I think we just needed to break it up.” Calum explains before pointing to the upside-down triangle on the bottom and a similar symbol on the sheet. “See here, the triangle on the bottom matches up with the word beast."

"Beast? See I knew it was a werewolf!" Michael declares, standing up in excitement. I notice a few people who have just arrived from the table near us raise eyebrows. Michael bites his lip quickly sitting back down. The three of us glare at him, we didn't need anyone getting suspicious of us.

"And if I break the picture up, I think this symbol here means moon." Calum says matching it up with the chart.

"Exactly, my point beast, moon; it's a werewolf, isn't it?" Michael declared. 

I couldn't help but agree, with symbols that represented moon and beast. A werewolf was looking likely.  There were more than two symbols though so they could point to something else.

"Are you going to keep interrupting me?" Calum scowled at Michael. "Let me finish."

Michael shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry."

"Well, I think this one here means darkness or a shadow." Ashton says looking over Calum's shoulder.

Calum nods. "Yes, that's what I thought too."

I study the chart as well, noticing that the only other one that matched was the swirling part at the top, "The top part looks like the one representing motion."

"Or change." Calum frowned, pointing to the words in the bracket.

"So, moon, beast, shadow and change, you know it sounds like-" Ashton begun.

"See, I told you it was a werewolf." Michael yelled before Ashton could finish with a smug look. "It makes sense werewolves shift with the moon, are considered beasts and are the nights shadows. We have plenty of suspects now."

I frowned, it didn't make sense though. There had to be quite a few of us out there, and so many around on that night. There were more than a few suspects.

"Yeah, but did any of them do this?" Ashton frowned.

Michael looked glum as he sat back down in his seat.

"Well we were all together so it wasn't any of us, and obviously I trust all three of you anyway." Calum nodded. "Finn on the other hand is definitely still suspicious though, we all saw the way he acted at the funeral and we all have reason enough to suspect him."

Michael nodded, "Finn is definitely up there but who else have we got?"

"What about Jayden or one of his pack?" Ashton wondered with a frown.

I stared at Ashton for a moment, from what I'd gathered Jayden was like an older brother to Calum. There was no way he'd have something to do with it. I trusted him based on that. My stomach sunk, I'd trusted Finn though too.

Michael gasped, "Whoa you're seriously not accusing one of them, are you?"

Ashton shrugged, "Well they were at the party and they're all werewolves. Any one of them could've slipped away and done this."

I could see Ashton's point. Calum trusted Jayden but there was more than just Jayden though. There were three other guys and any one of them could be responsible. I hadn't spoken to any of them so that alone made them suspicious. I had no idea of their character. From what I'd gathered the only other werewolves around were Finn, who I'd silently ruled out. Then Sam's mother and Sam himself. I wouldn't think that Sam's mother would've killed her own son. So, if it had been someone at the party it was looking possible.

"As much as I hate to say it, I agree." I say looking at the others. "We weren't at the party so we don't know who was there and who wasn't when it happened."

"You two might be onto something," Calum frowned, running his hands through his hair with a tired expression, "But geez I couldn't see Jayden or any of his pack doing something like this."

"We trusted Finn." I spoke quietly.

Ashton nodded sombrely, "Yeah, Luke's right we did,"

The four of us sat in silence. I didn't think Calum had trusted Finn, but we didn't think he would do what he did. I'd trusted my parents too, thinking that there was no way that they could be hunters. You couldn't trust anyone it seemed. Though I looked around at the others, perhaps you could trust a few people.

"We're still not even sure we've worked this out right, it is from the internet Cal." I frowned. "It might not even be a werewolf."

"True," He sighed. "It's a lead at least. It might give us some idea what we're dealing with."

"I mean come on, if it turns out it's a werewolf you all owe me." Michael smiled smugly.

The three of us rolled our eyes.

"Joking." Michael laughed at our expressions, "But I still think it was a werewolf."

*******

"So, I've been thinking we need to go and talk to Jayden's pack again." Michael explained as we left history later that afternoon.

"You're not suggesting we interrogate them, are you?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I thought we already did that?"

Michael shuffles nervously, "Well maybe, I guess you're right."

"At least we have a meaning for that symbol now," I say.

"From the internet?" Michael spoke, "It's great but I'm still not sure it's legit. If it is, it must be a werewolf all those clues point to one could be Jayden, could be Finn. I mean, there's not a lot of creatures that could pull that off in such a short amount of time."

"True, but weren't you the one that thought Ashton was crazy when he suggested Jayden and his pack had something to do with this." I raised an eyebrow.

"Well I thought about it, I think it's a werewolf. Calum knows Jayden. But, we don't know them all that well Luke." Michael frowned.

"Are you still on that?" Ashton asked as he caught up to us in the hallway, quickly falling into step with the two of us.

Michael sighed, "Yeah we are."

"Let's talk about something else, it's been over a week and all we have is some symbols and have started putting the blame on everyone else's pack." Ashton sighed.

"Like what then?" Michael frowned.

Down the hall, I could see Kaylee putting up posters with the new girl Georgia. They seemed to be chatting away happily and I hoped that meant that the two of them had made friends. Especially with how unhappy Kaylee had seemed with her current friends. I focused my hearing onto them.

"Now that your helping me with the posters, you'll have to come to the dance," Kaylee smiles, "It's on this Saturday. You'll be able to meet loads of people."

Georgia frowned at Kaylee, as they put up the poster, "I would if I had someone to go with. Don't you usually have to have a date to these kinds of things?"

Kaylee interlocked her arm with the other girl, "Kind of, anyway we'll find you a date." She grinned, "But if not, I guess we'll just have to go as friends."

Georgia smiled, "That would be great."

"Anyone you're interested in?" Kaylee questions, pulling her to a stop.

Georgia blushes, "Maybe. But I don't know if it would be awkward to ask him or not. He probably doesn't even like me." Kaylee raises her hand; her eyes fall on us as we start to walk by them.

"Hey boys," Kaylee smiles, she gestured to the poster, "Will we be seeing you this Saturday?"

We exchanged glances. Did we go to dances? For some reason, I couldn't really pick the others as being the type.

Michael smiles, "Oh, there's a dance this Saturday?"

Kaylee nods, "Sure is."

"Maybe." Michael shrugged.

"Well I hope so. It'd be nice to have the whole year there." Kaylee smiles. "A lot of the other people in our year are coming."

We all nodded, but I wasn't too sure whether this meant we'd go or not. Dances didn't seem like our thing.

"Anyway, we have plenty of these to put up by the afternoon." Kaylee smiled, "So we'll see you later."

With that the two girls began to walk down the corridor in the direction that we'd just come. "Now which boy is this?" I heard Kaylee ask once she thought we were out of earshot.

I didn't hear her mumbled reply, because Michael's face had lit up. "I was thinking we should actually go to the dance." Michael spoke.

"We are not going to the dance." Ashton grumbled. "I went last year, it was lame."

I shook my head, "I have two left feet, besides last time you guys made me go to any sort of celebration look what happened I'm staying out of it."

"Come on guys." Michael whined.

"What's this really about?" Ashton sighed, "I distinctly remember you not wanting to go to the dance last year and you carrying on when I said that I was going."

Michael let out a long sigh, "You caught me."

"Knew it." Ashton grinned, "Now why on Earth do you want us to go to the dance,"

"We have to find a way to get Georgia and Calum together. This is our chance." Michael declared. "It's obvious that was who she was going to tell Kaylee about."

I frowned was Michael sure about that? I wasn't sure we should be playing wingmen with things in this state.

"So, we're all possibly being hunted down by something that could quite possibly kill us and all your worried about is finding Calum a date." I glance at him.

Michael shrugged, "Believe me Luke, we need a distraction. May as well be this."

Ashton sighed, as he stretched his arms out in front of him, "Maybe Michael's right Luke. We've all been so stressed lately trying to work out what happened to Sam, focusing on getting Georgia and Calum together would be good for us."

"So, we're still onto plotting to get them, together are we?" I frowned at them.

They exchanged glances, "Yeah."

I looked at them in dismay. I couldn't believe we were trying this.

"He needs it Luke." Michael spoke. "It might not work out, but he needs a chance, and a big push."

I look between them both, Michael's expression is deadly serious and Ashton gives a light nod. It seems even he had been convinced.

"Fine." I sigh. "What have we got to lose?"

Michael grins, "Exactly. If it doesn't work then no harm done, right?"

"Whatever you say Mikey." Ashton sighs, "But I think this could work."

"Here's our chance now." Michael grins. I look ahead of us and can see Calum walking across the courtyard towards the school gate.

"Calum!" Michael calls out.

Calum blinks, before looking over at us. He smiles before joining us, a quick check of the bond and it seemed to be down again.

"What do you say to going to the school dance?" Michael asks, once his walking with us.

Calum frowns at him, coming to a stop. He looks at Michael in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me, since when do you want to go to a school dance?"

"Since now." Michael nods, "And if I'm going everyone else has to too."

Ashton and I nod. I didn't agree with the logic of it, but it seemed we were all doing this together.

Calum bit his lip before letting out a sigh. He threw his hands up in the air, "We have way too much to do, Michael. Give me one good reason why we need to go to the dance as well?"

"Exactly my point, you need to relax Calum, all you've been doing is stressing," Michael declares.

"I'm not stressing." Calum declares, with a frown, "I'm just making sure no one else gets hurt. What if one of us had been Sam? "

The three of us are silent. That thought terrifies me. It had been bad enough seeing Calum badly injured that night at Emily's. Death was a scary thing.

"We don't need distractions, Mikey." Calum frowned, "Now if we're all done."

"You can't avoid things forever, or you'll miss out," I say quietly, quoting Calum's words as much as I can remember.

Calum's mouth wavers and I think his about to say something but his rendered speechless. Michael grins at me, giving me thumbs up.

Ashton nods, "Yeah Cal haven't we always talked about balancing this stuff. We need to have some fun."

Calum bites his lip, looking between the three of us. I try to put on an excited face even though dances aren't my thing whatsoever. He lets out a sigh, "Alright, fine we're going. Happy now?"

"Yes!" Michael grins, "It's going to be the best time."

I sighed, I hoped that it honestly would. Yet after the last party I was beginning to have little hope at that. As Michael started going on about the school dance. Ashton and I shot each other nervous looks, what on Earth were we getting ourselves into?

 


	6. Last Dance

The dance came along quickly, after days of classes and nights of trying to solve this mystery with little reward. My mind hadn’t exactly been on the dance. I might have even forgotten if Michael hadn't walked into my room in a traditional black tuxedo on late Saturday afternoon with a massive grin on his face.

"How do I look?" He grinned, acting every bit like a model as he moved to show me it. I could only look on in horror, but I tried to look enthusiastic.

"Wow you in a tux, never thought I'd see that." I commented, before I frowned. "Why the big fuss though, isn't this just a school dance?"

Michael rolled his eyes, "We've got to do it properly Luke. There's one for you too."

I stared at him mortified. "You mean, I have to wear one too?"

Michael nodded, as he pulled out a black suit bag from his room and passed it towards me. I let out a small groan. However, if this was the plan I didn't have a lot of choice.

With a sigh I took the bag, retreating into my room to get changed into it. I eyed my pile of clothes poking from my duffel bag. I wished I could just wear some normal clothes like I had to school dances in the past. Yet, Michael had insisted. So half-heartedly I unzipped the bag letting the full glory of the suit reveal itself. It was identical to Michael’s. I bit my lip, as I stared at it for a moment. Was Michael sure about this? Wouldn't we look ridiculous dressed like this?

A few minutes and a lot of convincing later, I looked in the mirror all suited up. I took a deep breath, it was as if I was looking at the reflection of a stranger. I pulled at the suit trying to get it to sit right. I'll admit it was strange but it didn't look as bad as I had imagined. I combed my hair back and sighed. It seemed this was the best I was going to do. When I was satisfied I walked out of my room to find Michael waiting at the door. He grinned when he saw me, giving me thumbs up. He seemed to be enjoying this. Perhaps even a little too much.

"Looking good, Luke." Michael said, gesturing to my suit. I blushed a little, shuffling nervously with my feet, I didn't think I looked that good.

"This isn't too much is it?" I raised my eyebrow at him, tugging at the collar of the suit once more. I was glad this was only for one night, I'd be glad to get back to my usual clothes once the dance was over. Shame black skinny jeans and t-shirts weren't part of the dress code.

"Of course not, You boys look great." A female voice gushed. I turned to see Michael's mum coming up the hall from behind us. I noticed the phone in her hands and frowned as she smiled, "Can I take a picture?"

I glanced at Michael, and shot him a glare. Did we really need to do all of this? Did we need to have pictures of this?

He rolled his eyes, "You look fine Luke."

I glowered at him, that wasn't my point.

 _'Besides, just let my mum take them, it's worse if you fight her,'_  He thought to me.

We both grimaced. I was quickly reminded of my year six farewell where I'd demanded that my mother not be embarrassing and take billions of photos of me. Despite her assurances that she wouldn't she'd become snap happy the moment the camera had come into her hands. Capturing all my tween awkwardness on film. I sighed, I wondered if she still even had all those photos or that they'd been buried away. A small ache went in my chest, as much as I hated her for everything she and dad had done, I did miss them a lot. Except for all the moving, there had once been a simpler time where I had no idea about werewolves or my parents’ role in hunting them.

"Luke?" Michael questioned, with a worried expression. His hand was left slightly open as if he'd been about to pull me into the photo. I could see his mum was standing a distance away from us, waiting with her phones camera. Even her expression was quite concerned, how long had I lost focus for?

"I'm fine." I smiled at them both, before letting Michael pull me into the picture. I knew I wouldn't be able to compete with his bright red hair and would look super plain in the photo but I joined him anyway.

As Michael had suggested, the photo had easily appeased his mother, she quickly showed it to us with a proud grin. Instead, I wanted to sink in embarrassment, my smile looked weird and I looked so inferior beside Michael. The outfit kind of suited him. It wasn't the worst picture but it wasn't the best either. Pleased with her work his mother quickly left us in peace, obviously the one photo being enough.

Outside, I heard the faint noise of a car pulling up outside out of the house. Michael and I exchanged glances. "They're here." Michael declared. Sure, enough a quick check of the bond told me that both Calum and Ashton weren't far away from us.

With nervous glances Michael and I made our way downstairs to where Calum's black 4WD was pulled up in the driveway waiting for us. Ashton waved to us from the passenger’s seat. I could sense his nervousness through the bond. I'm not sure if any of us knew what to expect tonight.

"You two look very dashing." Ashton smiled as we took the back seat behind him. I could see that both Calum and himself wore tuxedos as well. I guess I'd been the only one who hadn't known. Thankfully Michael was onto it.

The car ride was in silence in the way to the dance, it reminded me so much of our long car rides whilst we had been on the run. I frowned, another memory that probably wasn't the best to bring up. Things were going to be fine tonight. I had to remind myself if that, it had almost been two weeks since Sam's death surely nothing like that would happen again this soon.

Calum pulled up to the parking lot, and the first thing I noticed was that there were people everywhere. Boys in tuxedos and girls in sparkly mostly blue and silver dresses walked by us. I was totally out of my league. Even Michael was looking a little worried now, this had been his idea after all. At least our suits didn't seem so out of place here.

I frowned as I opened the car door and the thumping pop beat hit my ears. My stomach dropped, I felt like this was all just a bad repeat of what had happened at Calum's. Being dragged into going to a party, only for everything to go wrong. I sat seemingly paralysed, I couldn't go through that again.

"Nothing bad is going to happen tonight." Michael smiled as he noticed me hesitating. He gave me a light push out the car.

I frowned, back at him, "Where have I heard that before?"

Michael rolled his eyes, "We're here to have fun.... possibly do a bit of matchmaking."

"That bits a secret." Ashton whispered as he stepped out the car behind us. "So, let’s just focus on having fun tonight."

"Let’s do this." Calum smiled, with a small hint of enthusiasm as he joined us on our side of the car. Noticing our sudden silence, he looked between us nervously, "What, this was your idea Mikey? Having second thoughts?"

"And it's going to be an excellent one." Michael grinned only a second later, as he begun to walk towards the group of students. He turned back to us, "You'll all thank me for this later."

I exchange glances with Calum and Ashton, right as Calum lets out a small frustrated groan. I'm starting to feel the exact same way, why did Michael drag us all into this?

Following Michael, we joined the horde of people headed towards the school’s hall. The path into the school was lined with tiny fairy lights. I couldn't help but gasp at how beautiful they were. Clearly, someone had made a big effort. I hope this was a sign of good things to come. People stopped to take photos and gawk at them.

"Well they've already done better than last year, there was almost no decorations whatsoever." Ashton commented, his eyes flickering around at them. Michael and Calum both nodded their faces both wearing similar masks of awe.

We continued to walk towards the school’s hall, and found that the trail of lights wasn’t the only decoration. The entire hall itself had been turned into a winter wonderland. It reminded me of that movie Frozen with all the icicle themed decorations, dangling from the ceiling. I'd been forced to watch it with Ashton's younger sister a few weeks back. I guess this was the end of winter dance so it made sense for it to be snow themed despite us not having snow here. I vaguely remembered seeing that written on one of the posters, but considering I hadn't read about the suit theme I clearly hadn't remembered much of it. I stared up at the ceiling that was dotted with stars and a greenish blue tinge making it look like the northern lights. It was beautiful.

When I looked down at the bulk of the party it was a stark contrast to the dancing that was occurring below it. I noticed two people dancing together pretending to be robots in time with the music and grimaced internally.

"Boys you came!" Kaylee grinned as she appeared near us in a shimmering blue dress. I noticed behind her she was forcefully dragging a stunned looking Georgia behind her who was wearing a similar ensemble. She pushed the other girl forward towards us. "You've all met Georgia, properly right? "

We nodded in agreement. Georgia looked back at Kaylee with a slightly mortified expression, the girl didn't seem to notice her though.

"Did you girls do all this?" Calum questioned, gesturing to the decorations around us.

"We had some help, but yes we did." Kaylee grinned, "You can thank Georgia for setting up the ceiling. It turns out she's a technological genius. It looks amazing,"

Georgia blushed, "It wasn't much just a few LED lights in the right spot and hey presto. You boys really think it looks that good?"

We all nodded. I for one was impressed, and judging from the reactions of our classmates I was sure I wasn't the only one.

"Yeah it's a shame this school doesn't have a good technology program like my last one. My entire class could set up things even more impressive than this," She smiled, "It was hard setting things up in such a short amount of time,"

"Well you did wonderful." Calum smiled at her.

"Thanks." She blushed once again.

The lighting dramatically changed in the room, the bluish greens turning to red and pink as a junior boy tapped on the speaker, "Alright everyone, we're going to bring this show down a few with a slow one. This is your first chance to ask someone to dance, so ask that girl sitting by themselves or that guy you've always had a crush on."

Kaylee nodded at Georgia. She bit her lip and shuffled her dress.

"Uh, Calum would you like to dance --uh-with me?" Georgia asked shyly, her eyes on Calum's shoes.

Calum looked a little embarrassed, he looked at the three of us. Seeing our chance, we quickly nodded. "Uh...I guess so." He mumbled.

Neither of them moved for a moment and there was a hum of nervousness between the rest of us.

"Go." Michael nodded gesturing towards her.

Calum glanced back at us, but took Georgia’s arm easily. She gave him a surprised look, her eyes quickly flickering to Kaylee’s. Kaylee nodded at her. The two walked to the dance floor and begun to dance.

It surprised me at first how good Calum was at dancing. I don’t know what I’d expected but it wasn’t this. They started off slowly seeming to match one another's movements perfectly. I smiled, well, at least it seemed our plan was working. I was happy for him. Michael was probably loving this.

' _Luke_.' Michael nudged me.

 _'Huh?'_  I gave him a questioning glance, as I turned to see Ashton and him had already begun to walk away.

 _'Let's leave them to it.'_ He spoke before gave thumbs up at Kaylee who nodded as she too turned to leave. I wondered if the two of them had been planning this the whole time, both had been the ones that suggested we go to the dance. I shot him a suspicious look but nodded. Quickly following behind them, as we headed towards the exit.

 _'They're dancing, so I think our operation is a success.'_ Michael declared proudly, as the three of us headed up to the loft of the school's hall. It seemed to be quiet up here, a group of girls chatting at one corner.

From here we could look over the whole school hall. The entire place a winter wonderland. It also looked like a mess of people down there, girls in poufy sparkly dresses and guys dressed as we were. The decorations were more evident from up here. Georgia, Kaylee and the rest of the people organising the dance had done an excellent job.

Then I heard it, vibrating through my skull. A high-pitched howling sound. It caused me to freeze for a moment, as I squeezed shut my eyelids just begging for the pain to stop. It faded as quickly as it came. I frowned, the similarity striking me quickly. A bad feeling grew in the pit of my stomach.

"Guys, I just heard something." I say as I glance back at the corridor behind us. Something told me the noise had come from that direction but I couldn’t be so sure. My thoughts quickly raced, what about Michael? My head quickly turned to him.

"Crap, I heard it as well." Michael gives me an uneasy look as our eyes meet, I knew straight away we'd both heard it. "Same noise as last time, right?"

I nodded, "It seemed stronger though."

"Yeah, it did."

"I didn't hear anything." Ashton frowned, causing Michael and I to exchange glances. We were both thinking that it was happening all over again, and I had a sinking feeling that we wouldn't be able to stop it this time either. Perhaps it was already too late.

"Do you think it's going to happen again?" Ashton frowned, before lowering his voice his eyes carefully, his eyes on the group of girls sitting together near us, "or it has happened."

I frowned, "The only werewolves here are us and Finn though."

"And Calum." Michael frowned.

With a worried glance the three of us quickly raced towards the railing. I scanned the crowd nervously, they weren't where they had been. My heart beat quickened, where were they? I closed my eyes, feeling the tug from the bond somewhere close by. When I looked at the spot I could see Calum still dancing happily with Georgia a massive smile on both their faces. I could also see Finn standing near the DJ nearby as he slowly sipped on a drink. I kept my eyes on him for a few moments expecting something suspicious but found nothing. As far as I could see everything seemed to be okay down there. There wasn't any sign of anything trying to hurt someone. I sighed in frustration perhaps we were wrong about the sound after all.

"Should we tell him?" Ashton frowned, turning to face the two of us.

Michael quickly shook his head, "No way. Not unless we find something. Look what a good time he's having."

Ashton and I sighed, surely the three of us could handle this on our own.

"Besides, Sam was alone. Whoever or whatever that thing is, I don't think they'd attack in such a crowded space." Michael added. "I think it was outside, somewhere behind us perhaps."

At least Michael and I were on the same page. My eyes fell to Finn who was still standing there sipping on that drink. At least it appears I was right to disregard him as being a suspect in Sam's death. If it wasn't him, then who was doing this?

"You said it was behind us? We'll go into the corridor then, I don't think it's in here." Ashton says.

There was a loud high-pitched howl through my ears, I couldn't help but let out another small whine. Ashton frowned at me, "Luke?"

"I heard it again, it sounded closer." I frowned at Michael who nodded.

Michael frowned, "Let’s try and find it." He paused for a moment, "before something bad happens this time."

Ashton let out a sigh, he was evidently feeling a little useless considering he couldn't hear anything. He should probably be glad he couldn't hear it.

A few moments later and we had found ourselves in an empty corridor. I could still faintly hear the sound from the hall behind us. We stood there for a moment, Michael and I listening but everything was silent. Ashton frowned at the two of us. Then I heard it again, Michaels face scrunched up. It took everything I had not to cover my ears.

"Again?" Ashton asked with a worried expression.

Michael and I both nodded.

Michael frowned and crossed his arms, "I have better idea. Let’s split, the bond seems to be working tonight so we shouldn’t lose it. I think considering that Luke and I can hear it. Ashton, you go with Luke."

I blink at Michael, what were Ashton and I going to do about it. If we found it.

"Will you be fine on your own?" Ashton frowned. “I’m not sure I like that idea considering the circumstances.”

Michael rolled his eyes "Of course Ash, it's me."

"Perhaps we don't need to." I frowned looking up ahead.

I could see Kaylee was stumbling around the corner clutching at her side as she let out a small moan with every step. Her hands shaking slightly over the injury.

I exchanged worried looks with the others, before I raced forwards my feet sliding on the linoleum floors. I slid to a halt a few meters away, she turned up to look at me with the slight hint of tears in her eyes.

"Kaylee? Are you okay?" I asked racing up to her, quickly moving to help her stand up. I could hear Ashton and Michaels footsteps behind me.

She didn't respond for a moment. I took in her pale skin, her body trembling and what was a bloody cut down the side of her pale blue dress, the section completely ripped. It was a total contrast to how she'd looked only a mere ten minutes ago. What could've happened in such a short amount of time.

"You're really warm Luke, thanks." She mumbled as she blinked back tears, "That thing that's out there. It tried to attack my brother. He told me to get out of there, and I did. But, he's still there. You need to find someone and let them know."

I looked back at the others. We were onto something. Michael nodded thoughtfully and Ashton bit his lip.

"Where was it?" I ask.

She pointed to the door that I knew lead out to the side of the gym. "Just outside."

"Let’s go." Michael spoke realising what I meant. He took quick steps towards the door, Ashton and started to run after him. They slowly froze looking at me not moving.

"I'll stay and help her find someone." I told them, Kaylee could probably use some help as well those cuts looked nasty.

Michael frowned for a second but nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

With a quick nod between us, Ashton and Michael began to walk towards the door.

"Wait! You can't go out there." Kaylee yelled, her hand trembling as she grabbed Michael's as he walked past her, "You'll get hurt. You don’t know what you’re up against."

Michael paused and held her hands and smiled at her, "Trust me we can. We'll make sure your brothers okay."

Her eyes searched Ashton and mine. We nodded. She released Michael's grip. "If you say so. Luke, you should go with them, I'm fine on my own."

"Are you sure?" I questioned.

She nodded, her eyes on someone up ahead, "Oi!" She yelled out to them.

The boy at the other end of the corridor blinked. The persons eyes falling on her injuries. He quickly began to race over.  

"I'm okay. Promise." She nodded, "You go."

I passed her onto the other guy, and followed Michael and Ashton out of the nearest door.

When we finally made it outside, I felt my stomach fill with butterflies. I knew that it was entirely possible that we’d just find another body. It would be Kaylee’s brother too and that would make it that much harder.

A loud high-pitched noise sounded through the air sending shockwaves through my body. Michael and I both let out a whine in almost unison. Ashton once again gave us both concerned glances. He couldn't comprehend how painful it was getting the closer we were to it. We must've been much closer than we had been last time.

"Take the corner?" Michael asked, sensing what I did.

We rounded the corner, I took a step backwards as the three of us pulled to a surprised stop. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for cliffhangers! ^^


	7. Dance Alone To The Beat Of Your Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took me a little bit, sorry to leave you all hanging! Been a bit busy and will be over the next few weeks but I'll try to update as much as possible. Thanks for reading! ^^

I frowned as I took in the scene before us. The first thing I noticed was the young boy dressed in all black. I think it was a tux, but it was hard to tell. He looked like he was only about thirteen, I quickly assumed that he must've been Kaylee's brother. We were in the right place.

However, his eyes were directed upwards as his body trembled slightly. I followed them to see the massive black shadowy hulk of a creature standing over him. It had piercing yellow eyes that were glaring down at him, the sharp glint of white teeth was evident beneath the shadows. It looked to me like a giant wolf. Another werewolf? No way it was far too large, and it didn't seem to have substance making it look almost ghost like in form.

The boy was suddenly kneeling grabbing at their throat as he seemingly gasped for air. There was a glimmer of red in the wolf like creature's eyes as it raised what I assumed to be its paws high in the air.

It was as though I'd frozen solid, my only visible reaction the small gasp that escaped my throat. We were too late. Time was up.

"Alright so this was not what I was expecting." Michael frowned, the alarm evident in his tone. "And worst of all its attacking a human too."

"What the heck do we do?" I asked.

The boy continued to struggle as the wolf's paws hovered above him menacingly. I wanted to help, but I had no idea how. How did you stop something like this? Sure, I could shift into a wolf, but I wasn't sure that would help.

Ashton just shook his head, he didn't seem to have words for it. Michael frowned as he watched. "Umm, maybe we could shift?" He wondered aloud, "Like no one's watching us, besides we're a lot faster that way."

Ashton nodded. I wasn't so sure but agreed anyway. I trusted that both Michael and Ashton knew what they were doing. They'd both been at this longer than I had.

"Alright." I frowned, already noticing that both Michael and Ashton's irises were shimmering with golden.

I knew what I had to do now. I took a deep breath focusing my thoughts on shifting into a wolf. I felt my skin prickle with electricity as I arched forward. When I felt my paws the ground, I turned back to both Ashton and Michael who had shifted as well. Michael's eyes narrowed as he looked over the scene once more.

_'Here's the plan. I think the three of us can start by distracting it to start off with. If we just dash past it in different directions, that should hopefully buy us enough of an opportunity that we can get the boy out of here?'_ Michael suggested, ' _What do you both think?'_

Ashton and I both nod. It sounded like the best idea to me, we didn't quite know what we were up against. I had a feeling after Sam that the risks of failure were quite high. Best to start simple. Besides, I knew I could run.

_'Follow my lead okay, then we split off.'_ Michael suggested.

Ashton and I had barely agreed when Michael took off. I gave a quick nod at Ashton and the two of us raced behind him. Straight away I could feel the anticipation in my bones at the chance to run. We hadn't been out as much lately, so I'd silently been missing it. I just wish my chance had been in a less dangerous place.

At Michael's signal the three of us split off. I headed right, while Ashton headed left. I turned back expecting to see Michael split off with one of us, but he was headed directly for it. I frowned, keeping him in my peripheral vision expecting him to turn but noticing that he continued to race towards it.

' _Mikey, don't!'_ I yelled as he raised his paw slicing it into the creature's shadowy skin on its right leg as he passed it. I was too late though, the wolf let out a loud howl as it began to thrash its paws wildly in the air. I narrowly slipped under one of them as it moved about, it was so much bigger than us. One paw was probably about the size of my whole form as a wolf.

My head thrummed with pain only a few seconds later reminding me of the early warning system I seemed to have regarding the beast. I let out a small whine, pulling myself to a stop.

_'Okay. I heard it that time.'_  Ashton frowned, slowing as he met me on the other side of the wolf. ' _What is this thing?'_

' _I'm not sure.'_  I frowned,  _'But I think this is our beast.'_

Ashton nodded quickly. ' _I'm not sure we can take this on our own, though.'_

The wolf let out a roar again, I could see a shadowy paw heading for us once more. I leaped out the way quickly. Only glancing behind me when I hear Ashton let out a yelp as he jumped almost getting caught on the creatures' paw. He slid slightly as he landed beside me. I saw him glancing at his back leg nervously.

_'You two okay?'_ Michael questioned as he looped past us.  _'You need to keep moving.'_

Ashton and I exchanged glances. I looked at Ashton's leg which wasn't sitting on the right angle. We'd only been at this for a few minutes, I wasn't sure this was the best idea.

_'You sure we can do this, Mikey? One of us is going to get injured before we can get the boy out of here.'_  I spoke, as I watched him begin to make another loop around the creature.

_'That's okay. I have an idea.'_ Michael nodded. I frowned, of course he did. Michael had a plan for everything. Some of them good, some not so good. I was concerned this was going to be one of the not so good ones. I wasn’t sure we had time for this.

A second later the creatures tail flung around in his direction and I watched him narrowly dodge it. Michael glanced back at us nervously. He didn’t have a plan, did he?

_'Calum get out here right now, I think we need you. We're out near the gym. Use the bond to find us.'_ Michael thought a moment later.

Calling for help? That was his plan. I thought we were keeping Calum out of this. I couldn't see how much more help he could be anyway.

_'Oh my god, is everything okay?'_ Calum says, I can hear the concern in Calum's voice immediately.

_'Look I'll fill you in when you get here. We're kind of busy now.'_ Michael replied.

_'Doing what?!'_ Calum screamed back through the bond,  _'What the heck are you three doing?'_

No one responded to him, I hoped in a way that would make him come out here quicker. In the meantime, someone was going to need to get the boy out of here. I could see him crouched down to the ground, holding his hands above his head as if that would protect him. The way that the wolf was thrashing about he could get hurt and probably didn't have superhuman healing like the rest of us.

' _Fine don't tell me. I'll be out soon.'_ Calum replied.

I glanced over at Ashton,  _'Ready to go again?'_

He nodded, and we started to run again. We didn't split this time though. It became apparent to me that Ashton was struggling, he was further behind me than normal. When it was safe, I pulled to a stop.

_'It's my leg.'_ He frowned, glancing back at it.  _'I hate being sidelined but I think I need to give it a minute or so to heal.'_

With a quick nod at Ashton, I started to race and weave again. I didn't care what Michael had to say about it. If Ashton was injured, it wasn't worth making it worse. Sure, we healed fast but even sprained legs didn't fix themselves in a few seconds.

I noticed Ashton pawed over to the other side of the concrete.  _'Luke do you think you could try and get in and help him?'_ He spoke a moment later.  _'I'll watch your back from out here.'_

I looked around me, Michael was still around the other side of the wolf and it was still thrashing at us like we were playing a game of cat and mouse. The boy was still on the ground struggling to breathe, he was looking pale and weak now. I was surprised he'd held out this long. He looked as though he was about to collapse at any moment.

_'Mikey, I'm going in.'_ I spoke.  _'Ash is going to help me.'_

_'Okay. Be careful.'_ Was the response I received.

I watched for an opening, it reminded me of having to skip into the moving skipping rope in primary school. It was all about timing. I knew if the wolf moved its arm forward it would take some time for it to swing it back. I took a deep breath and made a run for it.

I heard Ashton call at me and I saw the black shadowy paw coming straight towards me, and instead of jumping over it or diving I leapt forward. Feeling the edge of its paws grazing the back of my tail. Besides Michael, I was the fastest in the pack these days. If anyone could make it in it would be me. My legs ached, not used to running on concrete, but I slid down beneath the moving limb. I could feel quickly that the air wasn't as good here, I needed to be swift.

When I reached the boy, I nudged forward trying to pull him up onto my back. I wish I could speak as a wolf, so he knew what I was doing. I was surprised that the boy seemed to understand my intentions right away. The boy coughed and spluttered as I did so, but I felt relieved when he grabbed onto my fur. I just hoped I could pull him to safety. I looked up trying to find somewhere to take him. I could feel the air quality decreasing, I didn't have much time.

_'Luke!'_ I heard Ashton Yell.

I looked up, the boy still on my back, but I could see the flash of black paw headed towards me. I started to dash but I wasn't fast enough, it was following me. My breath caught in a panic as I tried to outrun it.

There was a loud howl and a dark brown furred wolf came bounding in, pushing us out from its grasp. We rolled on the ground for a moment. I heard the boy let out a shriek as we fell. I winced, so much for helping the kid. I'd just made things worse.

I turned my head enough to see the boy was scuffed and bleeding from the fall, and continued to cough. I turned back to the other wolf that had landed in a furry mess on top of me. I smiled, knowing it was Calum.

_'Thank goodness you're okay.'_ Calum coddled, licking me right in the face.  _'What the heck were you trying to pull?'_

I didn't have a chance to answer, because the shadow wolf let out an all mighty howl. I let out a yelp in pain and Calum's head jerked backwards.  _'That's right I'm not finished with you, am I?'_

Calum dashed away from me, towards the wolf. I sat up and watched as he pulled to a stop only meters from it.

_'Calum what are you doing!?!?'_  I hissed through the bond. He was crazy, I'd thought Michael was the worst but maybe I'd been wrong.

Calum didn't respond, but the wolf seemed to stop thrashing and its eyes were directly on Calum's. I sucked in a deep breath, what was the point of this? I looked over to where Ashton was standing, Michael had stopped beside him, but their eyes were on Calum and the larger wolf. I half expected Michael to dash over and stop him, but he stayed where he was.

Calum let out a low growl at the wolf, and the other returned it in challenge. I could still feel the boy behind me, as he clung to my fur. I looked up at them nervousness in my stomach, were they going to fight? The staring match continued, until finally I heard Calum speak in an angry tone,  _'Leave.'_  through the bond.

I wasn't sure who he was talking to when suddenly the shadowy wolf blinked at Calum for a moment, its gaze over the five of us before it made a whining noise and dashed away.

I turned back to the boy who was still clinging onto my fur tightly, I gasped all his scuffs were gone. The only sign of it some blood left on his white shirt. He'd been so badly injured just a few moments ago. He saw me looking and quickly let go.

Calum pawed over to us, there was a concerned look on his face. I wondered what he was doing, he was probably scaring the poor kid. He sniffed the air. A second later and Calum had shifted back. I wondered what he was doing? Shifting in front of people we didn't know wasn't the best idea. However, I saw the boy raise an eyebrow, before he nodded, and his eyes flashed with golden. I gasped, so there was another werewolf?

If that shadowy creature was somehow looking for werewolves. Then it all made sense. It wasn’t attacking a human after all.

Ashton and Michael raced over to us, and I noticed the slight limp still in Ashton's leg. They stood beside me and the three of us stood there still as wolves. I wasn't certain whether we should all shift back yet. While Michael was still a wolf I decided I should do the same.

"What's your name?" Calum asked, calmly bending down to the boy's level.

"My name is Lewis. I'm in Year eight." he responded with wide eyes. He looked a little frightened of Calum. I wonder how much he knew? He still seemed quite young. The boy frowned, "You are real right, like you can really turn into a wolf?"

Ah. So, he was new to this if he needed to ask that. Calum looked surprised too, but nodded, "Yes, how long have you been like us?"

Lewis stared at Calum for a moment, as if he'd totally thrown off his game. "Only a month ago." The boy looked down and spoke in a small voice. "I haven't been able to tell anyone what happened. I was sick all week and then I found myself as a wolf twice. I thought I imagined it, but now I've seen you and-"

"It'll happen again." Calum frowned, there was a slight look of sympathy in his eyes. I couldn't help but wonder if he saw a little bit of himself in the boy. "You didn't get bitten by anything, right?"

The boy shook his head quickly.

"You just turned thirteen then?" He asked.

The boy nodded.

"I see. I made my first shift at your age." Calum spoke soothingly, "So you're like me, a natural born."

There was a sudden fascination in the small boy's eyes, "How did you know all that?"

"I was lucky, my mum knew what had happened and I read a lot of books. It runs in my family apparently." Calum smiled at the boy. "It's not as bad as it first might seem."

His eyes fell to the three of us, "So, uh who are they-the other wolves."

"This is my pack." Calum smiled fondly, he turned back to us, "Guys shift back already would you. You’re not helping things."

Of course. There wasn't a danger now that we knew the other boy, Lewis was a werewolf too. I glanced around to make sure no one else was watching and shifted back. Michael and Ashton did the same.

The boy let out a gasp as his eyes fell on the three of us. "Whoa, all of you can do that?" He mumbled in a stunned voice. He looked back at Calum who gave him a reassuring nod.

"Calum here is our Alpha." Michael explained, surprising me with how kind he was being. I remembered when we'd first met how closed off he'd been until I found out, I guess he had thought I was a hunter, "The three of us aren't natural born like you and Cal, but we're the real deal. We're what's known as Betas."

"We're a pack." Ashton added, "So we're pretty close."

"Can I join your pack?" Were the first excited words from Lewis's mouth. I wondered if perhaps we were going to have another pack member. That would also mean that I wouldn't be the baby anymore. So far, he seemed like an okay kid, I wouldn't mind having him around.

Calum surprised me when he shook his head and said, "Look, you can't join our pack."

Ashton beside me frowned, and mouthed a 'what' in Calum's direction. The boy's face fell but Calum continued, "You're a natural born, so you can be an Alpha yourself or a lone wolf in your own pack. It wouldn’t work. However, if you'd like I can teach you everything you need to know."

The boy looked disappointed, but nodded, "Okay."

I heard footsteps behind us, and sat up in alarm. I turned to find Kaylee standing at the corner, she seemed to be healed now. Her eyes locked on the five of us, and she quickly broke into a run.

"Lewis, oh my god. Are you okay?" I heard her squeal, as she dashed forward.

"Kaylee...uh..." Lewis questioned looking up at his sister looking a little frightened as she stopped in front of us. He looked at Calum, "What do I do? How do I explain this?"

Calum nodded reassuringly at Lewis. "You both might need to have a little talk about it."

"Wait, I can tell her?" He questioned in a small voice. I was surprised too, we were going to bring Kaylee into all of this? I thought of Mali, I guess Calum’s sister did know too.

Kaylee looked expectantly between Calum and Lewis. "What do we need to talk about? What do you need to tell me?" She asked.

Calum nodded. "It helps having people who know. You're both close, right?"

Lewis nods without hesitation. Kaylee is still glaring at Calum.

"In that case, we'll give you guys some space." Calum says backing away, he nods to the rest of us to follow suit. "Take your time Lewis. I know you can do it. I'll be just over here if you need me."

Lewis nods slowly. The four of us then follow Calum away from them. I can’t quite hear them, but I hope this is the right thing to do.

"So, do you think Kaylee's like us too?" I ask. She had seemed so badly injured before that it didn't make sense for her to seem so much better already. I thought she might have even needed stitches.

Calum shook his head, " Don't think so, I’d have sensed her by now. Besides usually the gene's more dominant in males.” Calum said, "That's why there's more chance of males being natural werewolves more than females"

"So that's why you're a wolf and Mali isn't?" Ashton frowned.

Calum nodded, "Most likely. Werewolves like Emily or Sam's mother who are female and a natural born are rare."

"She was pretty badly hurt before though?" I frowned.

Calum shook his head, "I can see what you're saying, but she probably still heals fast without knowing it. My mum and sister heal almost as fast as we do. It's just not as noticeable."

"Wow, you've never told me that." Michael frowns, "I don't even understand how that works."

Calum shrugged, "Me either."

"So, like what are we going to do about him now?" Ashton asks, "With all this going on is it really good to have another werewolf around?"

"Well for starters I'm going to have Lewis added to the treaty though." Calum said, "He needs to be protected as much as we do."

"Sam was under the treaty." Michael spoke quietly.

There’s a moment of silence after that. I can’t help but think about what happened that day. What the wolf was doing to Lewis. Was that what had happened to Sam? Did he struggle like that?

"We all know that's different, that thing doesn't seem to know that." Calum frowned. I nodded the shadow wolf was something else entirely, we couldn’t blame the hunters for it. They hadn’t tried to harm us since we made the treaty.

"At least we have some idea of what's possibly after us," Ashton frowned, "And it seemed to get scared off when Calum challenged it."

"I don't think we could be lucky enough like that again. I think it was only because I was an Alpha it stopped like that." Calum frowned, "What worried me is that it's eyes were on all of us before it left. I don't think it liked being challenged by a whole pack. I think it’ll be back."

"What is it though?" I frowned.

"Not sure. Ashton’s right, at least we saw it now." Calum frowned. "So maybe I can find something. Those symbols seem to link up though, maybe it's some other type of werewolf. It's not like us, that's for sure."

"I told you." Michael grinned. "I knew it was a werewolf!"

The three of us rolled our eyes.

Calum sighed, "Fine Michael you might have been onto something."

Michael let out a fist pump, "Yes, I knew it! None of you believed me."

"Lewis, oh my goodness. It's fine," I heard Kaylee yell loudly as she pulled her brother into a hug. I turned to see Lewis with tears were streaming down his face, he looked so scared. Kaylee continued, "I've been worried about you these past few weeks and I'm glad that I finally know why. It's crazy but after what I saw tonight I believe you. You don't turn into one of those scary shadowy things, though right?"

Lewis shook his head, "Just a wolf,"

“I’m just so glad you’re okay.” She smiled.

“At least that worked out.” Ashton smiled, nodding towards the two of them.

“I was worried I did the wrong thing leaving them like that, but it was the right choice.” Calum agreed.

I noticed that the two of them were walking over to join us. Kaylee’s eyes were on all of us as she spoke, “So you're all like my brother?"

We nodded.

"It's a secret though obviously." Michael spoke, "The whole school can't know what we are,"

Kaylee nodded, "Well it all makes sense now, I wondered why you four hung around together so much."

We exchanged glances, we didn’t mean it to come across that way, but I guess it did.

"So, Kaylee, I'm going to teach him." Calum explained, changing the subject "There's a lot he should learn especially with things the way they are."

"You mean like that shadowy wolf thing?" Kaylee raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly like that shadowy wolf thing." Calum spoke with a grim expression.

Kaylee didn't seem to notice because she grinned, " Well thank you, Calum. I'm glad you're going to be keeping an eye on him."

Lewis pulled a face. "Hey everyone. I'm thirteen. I can look after myself you all know."

Kaylee sighed, "Not every thirteen-year-old is a werewolf either."

"Exactly." Calum nodded, and I noticed him exchange a glance with Michael who grinned. I wonder what they used to get up to when they were thirteen.

“Now Calum let me do something for you. Don’t you have a dance to be getting back to?” Kaylee grinned.

I’d almost forgotten about the dance. There was a large possibility he’d totally ditched Georgia. The worry was evident on Michael’s face.

Calum gasped, “Yeah, Georgia. I left her. She’s probably wondering where I went.”

“Exactly, I’ve got you covered.” Kaylee smiled. “If there’s no more shadowy monsters. Let’s head, back right?”

Everyone agreed, as we begun to head back towards the dance. For some reason I looked back, and I couldn’t help but notice the white spray-painted marking on the concrete. I shook my head and continued to walk, I didn’t want to be reminded of how badly that could’ve ended.


	8. Unexpected

By the time school went back on Monday I was still exhausted. I'd barely slept the past two nights since the dance. Ever since, my mind had been a whir. I couldn't help but speculate over the shadowy creature now that I'd seen it. What exactly was it? A deformed werewolf? No, I think it was far too big for that. A spirit or ghost? Well it had looked like a giant shadow shaped wolf so perhaps. Besides what exactly was its purpose anyway? Did it have a goal? I thought of the way that Lewis had been choking, and how the air quality had dropped once I was too close to it. If it was the same thing that had attacked Sam was its purpose to kill? I shivered, the thought was too terrifying.

What was bothering me the most was still why Michael and I were the only ones who could hear it. I mean Ashton had heard, but not until we were right there with it. After what had happened at the party, I'd assume that it was the same for Calum.

Not that Michael and I had talked about the shadow wolf or the dance since then. Neither of us seemed to be ready to talk about it yet. There were so many more questions raised by the dance, I didn't feel like we had any more answers to them.

Even as we met up with Calum at the school gates, he didn't move to bring up the dance either. Perhaps it was just something we'd all prefer to forget about. Even Georgia and Calum hadn't worked out; she was nowhere to be found when we'd returned. Kaylee and Michael had both let out frustrated sighs when they realised that she'd left. I suppose getting them together had been our aim tonight. I guess we'd been outside for so long she must've thought we weren't coming back. I guess she must've given up and gone home, I wasn't sure who I felt worse for.

The first thing I noticed was that Calum looked tired this morning, maybe I wasn't the only one losing sleep over this. He let out a yawn as we fell into step together.

"Calum!" An excited voice yelled, and a few seconds later an enthusiastic blonde-haired Lewis appeared in front of us blocking our path. Right now, he seemed to be the only thing we didn't have a billion questions about. It was clear to us that he was a natural born like Calum and there was nothing more to it.

His eyes were on Calum as he grinned, "Good morning." He spoke, his eyes flickered around, and he lowered his voice slightly, "So when are we going to start werewolf 101?"

The three of us exchanged alarmed glances. I can't believe that he'd just said that out loud.

I notice someone walking past us begin to slow and turns to raise an eyebrow at the four of us. My heart thumps loudly in my chest, he was going to ask about it. Quickly he shakes his head and walks away.

Calum let's out a frustrated sigh, as he pulls Lewis over to the edge of the gate, Michael and I follow him like bodyguards.

"Look, we'll work a time out later." He looks back over at where the boy who'd overheard was walking, "Also, remember you're supposed to keep quiet about this at school, no one needs to know about this."

The younger boy lets out a pout but nods. "Fine, I'm just excited is all. After what you told me last night I can't wait to learn everything."

"Well lesson one is keeping your mouth shut." Michael mumbled, with crossed arms. I shot him a glare, he was supposed to be nice to Lewis. Even Calum shot him a look. "What? It's the truth. He can't go blowing his mouth off like that or he'll get us all in trouble."

Calum shook his head and ignored him, "Look I'll talk to you later Lewis. But Lesson number two is not to take Michael too seriously when he's in a bad mood. "

Michael glared back at Calum. Lewis seemed to know he was in the middle of something, he looked between us nervously.

"Mikey does have a point though." I nod, "Lewis, I know you're excited, but you have to keep this a secret, or we could all be in a lot of trouble."

Lewis gives out a small huff, but nods. "Fine, I'll talk to you later then Calum." With that he nodded and raced away towards a group of boys waiting near the front office. Somehow that made me a little nervous, it was easy for us to keep it a secret as we we're usually together. One wrong move and all his friends could find out.

"Now he probably thinks I'm a big bully." Michael spoke once Lewis was out of earshot.

"Well you are." I spoke, with a teasing smile. "Sometimes."

"Thanks Luke." Michael glared at me, but I could tell from his smile a few seconds later he knew I was joking. He sighed, "He does need to keep his mouth shut though. What if someone heard?"

Calum sighed, "I know. I think he'll be okay though, Luke's right he's just excited"

"I hope so." I nodded. I knew exactly what it was like to be new to this. It was easy to get carried away, especially when he was a few years younger than we were.

"Was that Lewis I saw?" I heard a voice ask.

A moment later Ashton had joined us. His gaze was searching over near where Lewis had walked over to.

"Sure was, almost blew everything but we stopped him just in time." Michael replied.

Calum and I exchanged glances. All the kid had done was mention the word werewolf and he thought everyone was going to be onto us. I think he was making things worse by continuing to bring it up.

_'Geez, he didn't try to shift at school, did he?'_ Ashton thought back with a frown.

_'Close enough to it.'_ Michael sighed, as we began to walk towards class.

Calum sighed,  _'No he didn't. I might have just made him a little too interested in all of this is all. Bringing up telepathy and shifting to a thirteen-year-old probably wasn't the best idea.'_

_'You didn't tell him about the hunters or that wolf from Saturday is probably going to come back?'_  I ask.

Calum shook his head,  _'Not yet. Soon. It's not like he's going to go raging around the place like that Zoe was.'_

_'True.'_  I agreed, Lewis didn't seem like the one to do that.

_'Yeah, what about that wolf again? I mean I don't even know how we're supposed to avoid it. Let alone Lewis.'_  Michael said with a worried look.

_'Well we don't know if it will be back... '_ Ashton spoke.

_'Or maybe it might come back for Lewis again to try and finish what it started. '_  Calum frowned.  _'Look guys I think it's better that we try not to be alone while this is around. We've got to make sure Lewis understands the same. Luke maybe you can get Kaylee to help us with that.'_

I nodded, that was doable as I had science where I was still paired with Kaylee for our class task for one more lesson. I didn't like having to be the messenger, but I could see Calum's point.

"Just make sure we get him to keep his mouth shut too." Michael frowned.

"Yeah. I'll make sure of that too." I thought with a frustrated sigh. I guess I'd have to talk to Kaylee about that as well. At least if something went wrong no one could say that I didn't try to do anything.

************

"Thanks for what you guys did for my brother." Kaylee smiled, as I sat beside her in science. She seemed to be in good spirits today. It was also strange knowing that she knew about us.

"Not a problem." I grinned, as I began to unpack my bag.

Kaylee moved closer, as she leaned over to whisper, "So it's true you can really do that telepathy stuff? Cal was talking to him about how he'll teach him to shift back and forth, as well as using it." She paused for a moment, "Like you can do all that too?"

No wonder, he'd been waiting at the gate for us. He must've been excited. Calum had mentioned something about telling him that, and if he'd told Kaylee he must've been excited. He probably should've waited to tell him, better to let him find it out himself or let him have a go at using it.

I nodded at her, "Kind of I guess. It's more like mental communication between others like us. Like I can't talk to you for example."

Kaylee still stares at me in amazement, "Oh my gosh that is awesome. Somehow makes me wish I'd gotten the gene." She replies, "My brothers always been an animal nerd, so I'm glad at least. He won't stop talking about it to me."

I smiled, but deep down I hated knowing that he'd been brought into this at such a bad time when were all in danger. The shadow wolf had already targeted him once it seems, I wouldn't put it past it to do it again. I wish he'd had more time to get used to this, though from what it sounded like he was settling into it fine.

"So, what was that big shadowy thing anyway?" She asked with a frown.

"We don't actually know." I frowned, I bit my lip unsure of telling her what had really happened. She already seemed worried about her brothers' safety. Telling her wouldn't help that. I knew I'd still have to talk to her about keeping an eye on Lewis so perhaps it wouldn't be a bad thing to bring it up. "That was the first time we'd seen it." I sucked in a deep breath, "We're calling it a shadow wolf for now. We also think it might've been responsible for the death of one of Calum's friends."

Kaylee blinked, her mouth moved but for a moment no words came out. After a moment she managed to say, "Wow, okay. So, we were all pretty lucky to make it out of there then?"

I nodded, thinking of the way Lewis had been brought to his knees. The way I'd felt the air change. Kaylee's injuries. I'm sure Calum was going to have a lot of questions for the boy later what that had felt like. I could tell that he was holding off considering the circumstance, but I didn't think it would be long until he asked about it.

"I'm curious though, what do you remember of it?" I asked.

Kaylee sighed, "Well after I left you all I saw I had a missed call from my cousin and went outside to answer it when I heard the weirdest noise. I followed it to their outside was my brother with that thing. I tried to get in there to help him, but it just attacked me and there was a distorted voice telling me to get away. Then I found you three."

I nodded, I wondered how she'd even found her brother like that. I guess she'd heard the noise too, but I think that maybe she'd had to be close to it like Calum and Ashton. If she'd been in that hallway or closer perhaps she might have.

A few moments later Finn walked into the room, I frowned glaring at him as he apologized to the teacher for being late. I clenched my fist on the table, besides the dance he hadn't been at school last week. Now he finally shows up to class?

Kaylee noticed my sudden change in mood immediately, "Luke what's wrong?"

"Oh." She frowned, her eyes were on Calum and Michael who were giving similar glares in the boys' direction, "You guys aren't on friendly terms huh?"

I shook my head, deciding not to go into details. I didn't want her to be worried about her brother. "Finn's like us too." I spoke quietly.

"Geez, that new guy too? How many of you are there?" Kaylee blinked. "I was under the impression it was just you four."

"Plus, Finn. That's it, we think." I say. I decide against telling her about Zoe and I wasn't ready to explain that to her either. Especially not in the middle of science class.

It was then that I saw the boy in front's leg move out from their desk and then heard a small snigger. Suddenly, Finn was falling. A second later he was sprawled across the linoleum science room floor.

The class burst into laughter, and I hear Finn make a small animalistic growl as he picked himself up. He glared at the boy who had tripped him, making a small growl again. The boy who had tripped him who had been laughing along with the rest of the class, quickly sunk into his seat. Suddenly it wasn't funny to him anymore.

It wasn't funny to me either, if he was going around making noises like that to show his frustration. Some people might start to think about how real they sounded or that he was just a good actor.

As Finn stood I noticed a small black notebook sitting a few meters away from where he had fallen. It was tied with elastic to keep it closed. I had a sneaking suspicion it hadn't been there before and belonged to Finn. He walked away from it though, without even a glance. I knew straight away that I had to try and get my hands on it before the end of class if no one else came and collected it.

As the teacher began, I kept my eye on it. No one collected it or picked it up. Even as everyone began to leave when class was over the book remained. When the students that had been sitting there were gone. I was sure that it was his. Kaylee left before me and I pretended like I was still packing up.

I could see the others walking over to meet me, to walk to the next class together. I was tempted to tell them, but I thought four of us stopping to pick up the book would look a little suspicious.

_'Just need to talk to the teacher, and I'll be out.'_ I quickly told them.

_'We'll meet you outside then, Luke.'_ Michael nods.

Whilst the teacher was packing up, and I was almost the last student in the room. My eyes pondered over it, should I take it? I hated the idea of stealing something, but I had to be certain. I quickly dashed over to it. I opened it and I frowned, knowing I'd stumbled across exactly what I'd hoped that I'd find.

***************

The book felt heavy in my school bag, as class ended for the day. I knew I should say something to the others, but I wanted to be sure. I wanted to confront Finn on my own. I knew it was wrong to lie to them, but I didn't want them to jump to conclusions.

"We're taking a trip to the game centre on the way home, you in?" I barely noticed Michael question as we left History class together that afternoon.

The game centre of course. I did want to go, but I also needed some answers to this book. If I went to the game-centre, it would be too late to find out what the book was on about. I was now working to a deadline, I had to be fast.

"Luke, did you hear me?" Michael frowned, as he waved his hand in front of my face.

"Yeah, I have something I have to do first," I quickly told him. "I'll meet you there."

Michael looked confused but nodded, "Alright then, meet you there."

He left, and I saw him meet up with Ashton and Calum. They gave him a confused glance and turned back to look at me. I gave a small wave and they shrugged walking off. Well I made it through the first hurdle, the next wouldn't be so easy.

I waited around the classroom that I knew to be Finn's. I hoped that he was still here. Thankfully a few moments later Finn walked out, and I grabbed his shoulder pulling him back forcefully.

"I need to speak to you." I said as I released him.

He pushed me off him, I stumbled backwards, and he began to walk away. He waved his hand at me, "Lukey, take a number. I'm not talking to you."

I chewed my lip in frustration. I couldn't just let him walk off. It was time.

"What about if you want this back before I go and show this to Calum and the others?" I spoke as I pulled the book from my bag and dangled it in the air.

"Show them what?" Slowly, Finn turned to me with a confused expression. He looked stunned for a moment before he scowled. "Where did you get that?" He questioned, I saw his iris's flash for a second with golden. He leaped towards me, his hands grabbing for the book. I quickly turned clutching the book to my chest. Finn flew past me, barely stopping himself from falling to the ground. He growled at me eyes golden.

I sucked in a deep breath, I'd been prepared for this. Holding the book tightly I began to flick through the pages, I gestured to them, "Never mind that, what I want to know is what are these Finn?"

I saw something flicker in his eyes for a moment, a hint of recognition. Before his expression became neutral once more.

"Drawings" He shrugged. "What about them?"

"You have no idea do you, that this is the exact same marking we found near Sam?" I prompted. Sure, I wasn't expecting to spill what he knew straight away. He had to know something, and this was proof of it.

Finn frowned, "I don't know then, I was just sketching them in class. Now how come you were looking through my private stuff?"

"I was trying to find a name." I frowned, lying all the way. I knew this was wrong. I grinned, "Besides, the science room floor isn't really the best place to leave your private personal belongings if you don't want people to read them."

"Dammit, I hate you. Just give me the book back Luke."

I grinned and shook my head. I was enjoying having the power here, "Not until you've explained to me everything in this book, especially this page."

I pointed towards the page that I had been most curious about, a bunch of times and symbols marked out on a map of the town. Finn was silent.

"It's a map. You've been trying to work out where the Shadow wolfs going to show up right? This is last night at the dance. The other week with Sam. Then there's a time this afternoon," I spoke.

Finn continued his silence. He simply stared at the map, then at me.

"I was going to check it out." Finn frowned, finally snatching the book from me. I let him have it back, the chart had been the thing I'd been the most interested in and I'd committed it to memory anyway, "Now can you let me go?"

"If you're going, then I'm coming too." I spoke.

Finn stared at me, the let out a loud sigh, "Fine." He then looked behind me, he looked puzzled for a moment before he spoke, "So, where's Alpha boy and the rest of your pack, I didn't think you boys did things like this without each other?"

I frowned, Finn did have a point. Confronting someone was usually a whole pack thing, and finding out more about something was even more of one. Now that Finn was seemingly going to help me. I could tell Calum about this now. Besides, there was safety in numbers. Once he and the others knew what I was doing they'd be here. I closed my eyes, and tried to project my thoughts onto him but I could tell something was wrong just as I started, it was like talking to a wall. I knew it wasn't reaching him.

"Bonds down." I groaned. I tried again once more, but it was useless.

"Wow, You four still have that problem?" Finn questioned with a raised eyebrow. I wonder why he said it like that? When I didn't respond he said, "Well, if you're coming with me, we haven't got much time. Are you just going to call him?"

That was actually a good idea on Finn's part. I quickly fished my phone out my pocket and dialled him. He didn't answer. Neither did Ashton or Michael. They couldn't have made it to the game centre yet so surely one of them would've heard their phone. Frustrated I shoved my phone back into the pocket.

"Look this isn't working. Let's go." I spoke, "Lead the way Finn."

He nodded with a small grin, "Hopefully you can keep up."

I hope that once we were in the forest I could shift, and the bond might work again. That seemed to happen often. It was hard to tell as there wasn't a pattern as to when it when down. I knew I wasn't supposed to go off with him alone, but we'd been friends once surely with us working together now he would help. At least that's what I hoped.


	9. Encounter

Every step felt amazing, my bones electrified at the movement. I had to remind myself what I was here for. We'd been holding back again lately. It felt like ages since our last run. It wasn't even bothering me that much that Finn was here. He wasn't the worst running partner in the world. Yet, I kept having to adjust my speed. It seemed I was much faster than he was. The guys hadn't been joking about how fast Michael and I were, considering I could beat two Alpha's easily.

The exhilaration in my lungs was enough to distract me from how uneasy I was beginning to feel about this whole idea. Part of me couldn't help but think I'd made the wrong choice. I didn't want to think about how mad the others would be mad that I’d gone off alone with Finn like this.

Especially Calum.

I wish I could've gotten in contact with at least one of them, but then again, they probably wouldn't have let me do it.

I just knew someone needed to do something about this while we still had a lead. It wasn't my fault the rest of them couldn't hear me. I knew if I had left it any longer the lead would've been gone by this afternoon, I had run out of time.

On the way out, Finn explained to me more about the meaning behind the book and the map. Apparently, there was a pattern to the creature's movements and he'd used them to map out where it would turn up next. I wondered why we hadn't thought of doing that. We hadn't as there didn't seem to be an identifiable pattern at all. Only werewolves, and ones that were on their own. It was enough to go keep an eye on other werewolves, but it wasn't enough to map out where the shadow wolf would turn up next. Somehow Finn had seemed to do it though. I think that might have been why he'd been hanging around near the dance and Calum's place those days. I wondered if perhaps it was trying to tell him something too as he didn't seem to know how to explain how he knew where to find it.

We were just reaching a clearing when Finn abruptly pulled to a stop. I slowed, skidding on the leaves and twigs beside him. You'd think after all this time I'd be used to running on four legs but obviously not. Finn rolled his eyes at me. I tried not to let it bother me.

A moment later Finn had shifted back, he glanced back at me prompting me to do the same. I looked at the position of the sun, it had to have been about time. I looked around us, there didn't seem to be anything happening or even about to. Perhaps Finn's calculations were off. I listened carefully, I couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary, just the usual birds chirping. I couldn't feel the pain in my skull either. We were nowhere near it.

My suspicions immediately turned to Finn, had he intentionally lead me here? Was he the Shadow wolf? It was possible, he'd been at the party when the wolf would've started attacking Lewis. To start off with that map had put him back at the top of my list of people who could potentially be the Shadow wolf. I was starting to grow worried.

"Finn, are you pulling my leg? There's nothing here." I frowned as I glared at him and crossed my arms tightly.

"No, not yet." He shook his head. "Another fifteen minutes."

Another fifteen minutes? Why had we rushed so much to get out here then? I let out a groan, you mean I was going to have to wait here for fifteen minutes?

Well at least I could attempt to get the others with the bond.  _'Calum? Michael? Ash?'_ I thought out hoping that one of them would hear me.

I waited in silence for a moment and was once again met with nothing. I growled, this was unbelievable. I couldn't remember a time when the bond had been out for this long before.

Finn blinked at me looking startled, "I'm sorry you're the one who wanted to come out here with me, we made it here a lot faster than I thought we would."

I shook my head, "No, it was about the bond. It's still not working."

Finn stared at me in disbelief for a moment, "Geez, that's awful. You boys certainly have the dial-up version of pack telepathy."

I frowned at him, "What do you mean?"

Finn sat down on a nearby rock, "Well talking from experience it usually only cuts out maybe once in a blue moon, only when you have your first Beta or with a new member of the pack. You four are ridiculous it's like you're constantly having problems with it and you've been with them for a few months now?"

"Yeah..." I nodded, "Apparently it's always been that way."

"Strange..." Finn shrugged.

We sat in silence and, it occurred to me quickly that this was going to be one of the longest fifteen minutes in my entire life. I was filled with anticipation wondering if I was going to find something to solve all this.

I took a seat on a nearby rock and took to throwing some of the nearby stones as I waited.

"Luke, did you really not know about your parents being hunters until recently?"

I froze, turning to look at Finn who was looking at me with a serious expression. Where on Earth had that come from?

I raised an eyebrow and nodded, "I didn't have a clue."

"So, you had no idea what happened with my brother?" He asked, in a quiet voice.

I shook my head.

"Pity, you didn't bother trying to call me. We did have each other's mobile numbers." Finn spoke, "It's like you abandoned me."

I took a deep breath, of all the times we could have ever talked about this. He'd chosen now? It was hard to think back but we had been close friends not too long ago.

"You know they deleted all my contacts, right? They knew we were friends and probably how I'd react if I found out." I spoke, "At least that's what I think they did. I've barely talked to them about it since I found out." I sighed, "But they wouldn't let me near a phone-book. Besides, that was before everyone had Facebook, so it wasn't like we even had that."

Finn frowned, "So you weren't lying."

I shook my head, "I wasn't lying Finn. I've kept up with dozens of people I went to school with, maybe we're not close like we used to be, but I do hear from them."

We were both silent at that, I turned away from him.

"Remember when we used to ride our bikes out to the lake, and then we'd come back and get ice-cream. Then our parents would get mad at us for spending all our pocket money on sweets." Finn spoke.

I laughed, "Yes, it was all totally worth it though."

Finn grinned in agreement.

A memory suddenly sparked to life, of the day we'd first met at class. Year seven was the first time I could remember feeling included, everyone else was starting fresh too. I could remember Finn, a scrawny boy his bottle green uniform a thousand times too big. Mine had been as well. Mum hoped I'd grow into it before we moved again. I hardly ever did.

We'd been sorted into the same class together. I can remember that morning chatting for ages as we met the other students in our class. We'd stuck like glue that year. I hadn't thought about it much since I left there but I missed that.

"I did mean what I said though. Once this is over, we're not friends." Finn spoke, I gave him a stunned look we were finally getting along again and bringing up the past?

"Why?" I muttered, "Why do you hate me so much? Sure, there was my parents, but we even just agreed I had nothing to do with that."

"It's not about that anymore." Finn spoke darkly.

"Then what is it about?" I snapped back, throwing my hands in the air.

Finn let out a loud huff. "You don't understand do you? That guys given you so much power, your pack too. Even if you're bond is dodgy I know it's still there."

"What Finn?" I spoke, the only thing I was understanding out of it was that it was a werewolf thing, "Quit speaking in riddles."

"Of course, Luke gets everything." He spoke again.

"What Finn?"

Suddenly I can hear it, the high-pitched howl in the back of my ears. It grows quicker, and louder. I frown. It sounds as though it's headed towards us.

"It's coming." I mutter, quickly standing up from the rock in alarm.

"Luke, I can't hear anything." Finn frowned, standing up as well and looking around. "You're pulling my leg now aren't you. It's too early."

I shook my head as I heard the noise again. Louder this time, as it ripped through my ears. I covered them, squinting in pain as the soundwaves hit my brain. He couldn't understand. Dread filled my stomach. What if it was coming for us? What if Finn had somehow plotted out our doom rather than some poor unsuspecting werewolf. I'd been so worried about Finn being the one to hurt me that I hadn't thought of that. We were both going to get ourselves killed.

As if right on cue the shadow wolf burst through the trees in front of us. Knocking them this way and that, I quickly shielded myself with my arm as trees and branches flew everywhere. I heard it pull to a stop letting out an almighty howl. I looked up. It was just as eerie seeing it in the daylight. It looked as much of a shadow as it had during the night. It was huge, taking up most of the area. It's sharp white teeth glimmered under the sunlight. It had golden eyes today, rather than red. That was the only thing that made it seem less menacing.

"What the hell is that?" Finn muttered.

"The shadow wolf." I mutter, remembering it from the night of the dance. I guess he hadn't seen it. He must've been going from the spots we'd found or some other source. A thought struck me, Finn hadn't been lying he wasn't the Shadow wolf after all. He couldn't possibly be in two places at once. Then how could he know?

The wolf let out a howl, and I felt a wave of dizziness brush over me. I was weak like this.

I looked to Finn, whose eyes were glowing with golden. Of course, for some reason the noises hadn't seemed to bother me so much as a wolf. Besides I was so much faster. I shifted after him, landing my paws right beside him.

Finn turned around and bolted, I quickly followed behind him. Then I felt a rumble beneath the ground and saw a flicker of black move past us. There was a brain numbing howl, and I screech to a stop looking up to find the giant beast up in front of us now. Cornering us I would bet. I had a feeling no matter which direction we chose it would do the same.

Finn seemed to realise the same thing as we exchanged nervous glances. We were trapped. The Wolves paws were too large to jump over, and we didn't seem to be able to make an escape.

My stomach sunk, even if Finn hadn't intended this. I realised that this could be the end for both of us. We backed up slowly. The shadow wolf quickly matching our moves as it leered towards us. I saw its eyes flick to red.

' _Finn what do we do?'_ I yelled to him telepathically, hoping that at least would work.

_'I would say run, but I think it's too late for that.'_ Finn frowned, as it walked closer.

I thought of what we had done at the dance. We'd been able to run everywhere, under it and its paws. Perhaps Finn and I could try that and make our escape. If we could just make it back to some houses, perhaps it would be so large that it wouldn't follow us anymore. Though it had been at the school, so I wasn't sure if that would even work.

_'Let's go under it. Follow me Finn.'_ I grinned a plan quickly forming.

As I bounded forward, Finn didn't argue. He quickly followed me. As the two of us raced below it. Suddenly, I noticed Finn's pace drop and he began to cough and hack from behind me. I turned back in alarm, as his legs seemed to give way. I raced back towards him, friends or no friends I wasn't leaving him to this thing. I pulled at him trying to help him stay stable.

I could feel my own chest tightening and my knees beginning to wobble. I began to cough. What was happening to us? I'd felt it the other night, but this seemed much stronger. I could feel my strength waning.

My legs buckled, and I fell to the ground, feeling myself shift back without even trying. I glanced over noticing the same thing had happened to Finn who was coughing beside me, pale faced his lips turning slightly blue.

On my knees; my lungs were gasping for air. Finn was down on the ground beside me. So, this is what it did huh? I remembered what Lewis had been doing. What must've happened to Sam. We had no chance against this shadow wolf once it meant business. I tried to think a message to the others, but my mind was foggy, the bond was still down it seemed.

I guess it was too late, now anyway. It would've at least been nice to know that they'd find me.

I heard a loud howl as a bright light burst into the area. Pain surged through my body as I passed out.

 


	10. Exigency

  
I let out a small groan, as I opened my eyes into the bright light. My head was killing me, and I could faintly hear a dog barking. My vision wavered for a moment and I took a deep breath. I felt a slight pain in my chest as I did so. Something wasn't right.

I rubbed at my eyelids and looked around. Light filtered through the mosquito netting along the other side of the room. I sat up and could see outside, where there was a large grassed area that extended out towards a fence. My eyes fell on a notepad that was sitting on the table beside the lounge chair I was resting on. Scribbled in messy handwriting, I could see a list of times and temperatures listed with small notes like 'not responding.' and 'seems to be healing, but hasn't woken yet.'

A wave of panic went through me, where was I? Last, I could remember was the shadow wolf. I brought my hand to my chest, it had been as if my lungs were on fire. I think I'd passed out, I was sure of it. I looked around once more, something about the place was recognizable. However, I couldn't figure out how I'd been here before. Why were they taking notes on me too?

My stomach did belly flops as I looked down. There was a bandage on my arm where I could remember the shadow wolves' claws had dug into me. I frowned wondering who had wrapped all these bandages. My first thought was Calum's mum, as she'd done this when I'd been injured by Zoe. It was clear from a single glance we weren't at Calum's place though. 

Yet, it didn't look like any of the other guys places either. Besides, if I had been I'm pretty sure they'd all be here. Also, they wouldn't be taking notes on me either. I frowned, if they weren't here? Then where was I?

There's a loud scraping noise, I look up as I see an inch of movement from up ahead. I jump slightly startled by the noise. Looking closer I realise that it was just a sliding door. A moment later a woman walks out of it. Wearing overalls, and a small name badge that I just can't manage to read. Her wavy blonde hair is tied up in a ponytail. A relieved look crosses her face as her eyes fall on me. My stomach tightens, she looks friendly enough, but I don't trust her.

"What am I doing here?" I asked her defensively, before she could say a thing. I looked her up and down trying to work out if she was a threat or not. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to shift, but I hoped that I could if I needed to.

"From what I could tell you tried to take on a Shadow wolf. You weren't looking too good when I found you," She spoke calmly, as she sat across from me. "I managed to patch you up just in time I think."

I raised an eyebrow. How did she know about all of this? Had she been there? This was all way too suspicious. She knew too much.

"Are you feeling better now at least?" She asked with a warm smile.

I nodded slowly. My head hurt a little, but I seemed to be otherwise okay. I still eyed her suspiciously I didn't trust her.

She sighed, "I can't say the same unfortunately for that friend of yours. He looked pretty beaten up. He was there one minute and the next he was gone. Looked bloody awful so I don't know how he moved so fast." She continued. "I honestly thought he was dead."

I stared at her, she had to be talking about Finn, right? So how had Finn still been there but disappeared so soon after? I had to admit that was odd. Was he even still alive? I thought of the last moment I'd seen him, if I'd looked anything like he had we were both done for. Even now I wasn’t so sure how I was even still alive. Werewolf healing was good, but not that good. Sam was proof of that. 

"You mean Finn. We're not friends." I frowned, remembering our conversation. I was willing to stand by that now, unlike my fleeting hope yesterday that maybe all this tension between Finn and I could finally be over. All I could think was that he had and hand into leading me into a trap whether he knew about it or not.

"I see." She nodded as she drummed her fingers on the chair she was sitting on.

I sat up crossing my legs, as I glared over at her, "So just who are you anyway? You seem to know about Shadow wolves, and fixed me up too."

"I'm Alex." She smiled, "I'm a vet but-"

I blinked, Alex? Wait wasn't that the name of Ashton's vet friend. That might explain why this place looked so familiar. I remember coming out this way with Shadow and some of the other pups with Ashton and Calum that day so long ago when I'd first learned about all this. No wonder I'd been able to hear the bark of a dog when I'd woken up.

"Wait. So, if your Alex, then you know Ashton then?" I asked carefully, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice. Perhaps I was dealing with someone that I could trust after all.

She nods, her face lighting up, "I sure do."

I gaped at her for a moment. She didn't seem bothered by it as she stretched out her arms, as she continued, "I've known Ashton for a while now, from about the time that he first moved here. He used to hang around near the stream where I'd go to sketch. He didn't seem to have a lot of friends here yet and seemed to have an interest in animals when he came to visit here, so I let him help me out."

That was incredible, I felt a lot better knowing that she did know Ashton. Though, something still bothered me. She knew about the Shadow Wolf somehow. Was it possible that she knew about us to, or in fact she was one as well? I thought of the notes she had made about my healing. It seemed likely.

"So, if you know about the Shadow Wolf, then does that mean you-"

"Know about werewolves?" She finished the sentence for me, I nodded.

"I sure do. Ashton thinks I don't know about you guys." She laughs. "I knew from the first time he introduced me to Michael and Calum. I wasn't too surprised a little later when I deduced he was now one as well."

"But how did you know?" I blinked at her, "Are you a werewolf too?"

She shook her head, "Gosh no. I just have a bit of experience with your kind, my best friend from high school was like you guys. So, I learnt a lot that way." She smiled, "So when I started training to be a vet, I also started furthering my skills with werewolves as well. It's been a while since I've used my skills though. I'm a little rusty, no harm done though."

"How did you get me away from the wolf then?" I ask, thinking of the way that we'd found Sam and the state Lewis had been in when we'd found him.

She smiled, as she pulled something from her neck from underneath her overalls. I winced at the blue crystalline light, as I felt my eyes and head sting. "What is that?" I growled at her, catching my reflection in the mirror and noticed my eyes shining with golden.

"Sorry," She frowned tucking it back into her overalls, the gold disappearing from my pupils, "I'm not sure of the name but it's a kind of crystal. It detracts werewolves. A friend gave it to me, so I figured it might work."

I stared at her in amazement, "So it works against werewolves?"

"Kind of, I don't think it'll work though as you lot seem to be affected by it too" she sighed. "or I'd give it to you guys."

"But what were you doing out there?" I questioned.

She smiled, pulling a spiral bound book from the table on the other side of the room, she flicked through the pages revealing beautiful sketches of different plants and landscapes. I recognised a few of them from our runs in the forest. "I'm not only a vet, I like to sketch too. So, I took off up the mountains for there. There's these pretty amazing flowers up there this time of year. I was walking back, when I sensed a disturbance. What should I happen across but two boys kneeling to a shadow wolf."

Something had certainly been looking out for me today, considering that Alex knew Ashton, about werewolves and how to help me. Just how had she known I wasn’t dangerous though?

"How did you know I wouldn't hurt you?" I questioned.

She pointed towards my bracelet, "I saw that and recognized it from the ones Ashton and his friends had. I figured being a werewolf and all you must know them."

I fiddled with the charm on my wrist. It had saved me, hadn't it?

"I've already been in contact with them." She spoke, "But, do you want a drink or something?

"Yeah." My stomach growled at the thought, "Maybe some food too."

She grinned, "Sure. Do you like pancakes?"

I nodded quickly ignoring the fact that the sun was beginning to set outside. I think pancakes were a fine thing to eat after what had happened. Quickly Alex disappeared. Leaving me alone.

I sighed in my quest for answers I hadn't gained many more of them. If anything, I'd gained more questions. It seemed Finn wasn't the shadow wolf, but he somehow had known where to find it. Who knew where he was anyway? He could be dead for all I knew.

So just who was the Shadow wolf anyway? There was still a few suspects Jayden and the two other members of his pack. I didn't think Zoe could be back, but with the way she'd acted it was a possibility. I couldn't believe it when my mind came up with Kaylee too, I'd never seen them in the same place, but she had healed so quickly that it made her a suspect. Even Georgia sprung to my mind, she'd showed up around the same time that the Shadow wolf had it been more than a little odd.

I groaned, now Finn was off the radar I was off to blaming everyone. It might not even be any of them, they could be someone we don't even know. I would have to talk it over with the others. 

The door slid open, and I sat up expecting Alex to be returning with food. Instead a light-haired boy appeared in the doorway, he looked either way. His eyes froze on me, and his eyes lit up.

"Luke!" Ashton called racing over to me immediately once the door had opened. He pulled me straight into a hug. He began to talk in a rush, "Calum was so worried because you weren't responding, and he couldn't sense you. Then Alex rung and said you were here and-" He took a deep breath, as he pulled away, "I'm just so glad that you're alright."

I nodded, as Ashton eyed the bandage. I could see it running through his thoughts than none of us ever were injured enough for a bandage unless it was something serious. He frowned at me and he just opened his mouth to say something.

A few seconds later I heard the door slide open and with pancakes in hand came Alex. They smelt amazing like maple syrup and warmth. I grinned. Ashton froze turning to the noise rather than me.

"Oh hey, Ash." She smiled, as she placed the plate on the nearby table. "I thought you might be here soon."

Ashton smiled, "Hey Alex. Thanks for telling me to come here. I hope Luke didn't get into too much trouble." He gestured to the bandage.

"Not at all. He just had a little trouble with the Shadow Wolf, it's no big deal." Alex waved her hand at him. I even stared at her, she sounded as though she was down playing it. 

Ashton stared at her, then he looked back at me. "Shadow Wolf? Luke what the heck did you do?" He whispered under his breath, the bond still must be down, or I think he would've used it.

I felt like a deer in headlights, I hadn’t even thought about how I was going to explain this to the others. Perhaps I thought I’d just show up tomorrow all healed and not even have to mention it.

"It's okay you don't need to whisper, Ash. I know." Alex smiled.

Ashton froze, slowly turning to look at Alex. "Wait. You know about werewolves?" He asked.

"Yup." She smiles.

Ashton looks between the two of us again. I nod. "And us?"

Ashton sits in stunned silence for a moment, “Does anyone not know about this?” He mutters in an exasperated tone. 

“Not many people do.” Alex continued, "Yet, I worked it out a little while ago. The only other person that the animals would act like that with was my friend. The way they acted around your friends Calum and Michael too."

"Alex, you should've told me!" Ashton protested.

"Then you lot would've run to me whenever you three were hurt." She rolled her eyes. 

"Does that mean you wouldn't help us, if we did?" Ashton glared at her. 

"Of course not." Alex smiled. "I like you boys." She gestured towards me, "Besides I helped your friend, didn't I?"

"Yeah." Ashton nodded, "Thanks Alex....but wait Luke you still haven't answered my question what did you do to end up here?"

I bit my lip but managed to somehow explain to him about the events of the afternoon. Particularly about Finn and the journal.

"Wait, you took on the shadow wolf with Finn?" Ashton gasped when I was almost finished.

I nodded grimly. "Both of them are gone," I frowned, with a glance at Alex. "We're not sure what happened."

Ashton frowned, "I don't like the sound of that. I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of Finn or the Shadow wolf."

The three of us nodded.

"Anyway, eat some pancakes, you'll feel a lot better Luke. You too Ashton." Alex diverted a moment later, “They’ll go cold.”

She was clever, the two of us quickly dug into the pancakes. They were lovely, exactly like pancakes should be light and fluffy. She was also right, I felt a lot better after having them by the time they were all finished my headache was gone and the pain had faded from my chest. That or my enhanced healing was at work. Let’s just pretend it was the pancakes though. 

"Can we take Shadow out?" Ashton asked Alex as we were just finishing them up. It seemed Shadow was still here it seemed. 

"Yeah, sure." She nodded as she ate her own.

When we were finished we went out into the back room where the animals were kept. We walked until we came to one of the sections, the name Shadow clearly marked. The small pup had grown a bit since I'd last seen him. He looked excited to see us, he started pawing at the fence immediately.

We took him outside to the grassed area out the back. We began to throw the ball out to the pup who went bounding after it excitedly. I couldn’t help but smile as he nudged it at us and begged for us to take it from him to throw it again. 

A thought struck me, I was alone with Ashton. I remembered quickly what I’d wanted to ask him about next time we weren’t with Michael and Calum. 

"Hey, Ash what happened when you first shifted?" I spoke softly. 

Ashton blinked, his shoulder sunk slightly, "Why do you want to know? I thought I already told you that story."

I bit my lip remembering he didn’t like to talk about it. I shook my head, "You did, but I need more details. Michael and I are trying to work some stuff out. You just can't tell Calum about it though."

I bit my lip, Michael was going to kill me. But after what I'd seen we needed as much information as possible. I also trusted that Ashton wouldn't say anything until the time was right.

"What are you two up too?" Ashton frowned, "And you know I can't promise if Calum goes all Alpha on me."

"That's exactly my point, the car...Michael and I."

"You don't always have to listen to Calum like I do." Ashton nods, with a small oh, "Wait what is this about?"

I took a deep breath. I had to tell him now. I’d said too much to back out now. "We're trying to find out why we can. You know how rare that seems to be and both of us seem to be able to do it. It might not even have anything to do with the shadow wolf but it sure is odd. We have a little bit of an idea that something was different when we first shifted. That's why we're trying to find out."

Ashton nodded, "Fair enough. Though I don't know if mine was exactly a normal shift though. It was totally different from being there for yours."

"How so?" I questioned.

"Well it took a lot longer, it had been ages since Calum had bitten me... over a week. I didn't think I was going to be a werewolf to be honest." Ashton frowned, "My temperature had only gone up a little and that was about it. No sign of enhanced hearing or anything. It was like I'd been healed but that was it."

"You were probably glad right?" I asked. Thinking of how much he hated talking about it.

Ashton looked away for a moment, the only thing that stopped him was Shadow tugging at his pant leg begging him to throw the ball, he threw it quickly. 

He looked back at me, "I actually wasn't glad. In fact, I wanted it so much by that point.” I was surprised to hear that, Ashton sighed, “I'd just started to grow tired of being left out all the time by the other two. Deep down, I wanted to be like them; I wanted to run and leap and be something else. I wanted to have that power to escape to. Then I had my shot and it seemed like I wasn't going to even have that."

I guess it would be tough to hang out with them both as a human. I know I was able to do it for a few days, but I knew deep down I'd be able to join them soon. So, I never felt left out by them. For Ashton it had been totally different. 

"Then one day I just woke up feeling totally sick.” He continued, “It had been so long by that point that I just thought it was a cold. Michael and Calum ditched school anyway, and we spent the day just watching movies at my place. It started getting dark, and I can remember feeling as though I was being drawn outside and I found myself standing by the window. Then Calum suggesting we go outside. There was the half moon, then I shifted, and it hurt a lot. But you know, that right?"

I nodded. "So, you could walk and everything?"

Ashton nodded, "Yeah." He paused, "Wait, but you couldn't. Wait I see what you're saying, Michael couldn't either and now the noises."

I nodded.

"You both might be onto something." Ashton frowned, "but I agree don't say anything to Calum. He doesn't need to know right now that there could be anything different about either if you."

"My question is what could it be though, sure Michael and I were both related to hunters but like that couldn't be it could it? Like hunters are basically human."

"True." Ashton agreed, "I mean that's what we've always thought. Though now that you mention it I wonder why they were so focused before on getting Michael to come back to them and you to join them. From what Michael had said most of the time they just hunt the person down or pretend like their dead."

Ashton could be onto something.

"I wish we knew." I sighed.

Ashton nodded, "We'll work it out, Luke."

We sat in silence for a moment, Shadow let out a long whine as neither of us reached to take the ball. Even as he tugged at the two of us.

"Just tell me what's going on Luke." Ashton spoke after a moment, "Its hard Michael and Calum have their secrets from us, now you and Michael. It seems as though sometimes I'm the only one who doesn't know what's going on."

I looked over at Ashton realising what he was trying to say, he’d been left out once before and had thought that becoming a werewolf would make that better only to find that everyone else was leaving him out of everything. 

I nodded, “I’ll try my best Ash.”

He gave a small smile, and we went back to throwing the ball for Shadow. 

Deep down I knew he had a point though, we were a close pack, but we had our secrets from each other. Hopefully they wouldn’t be the thing to tear us apart. 


	11. Sophie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geez, didn't mean for this to end up being such a long chapter. So much of this is important that I wasn't too sure what to cut out or where to split it. Anyway, hope you enjoy it!   
> P.S Thanks so much to anyone who's left Kudos or comments on this! You help keep me writing! ^^

"Rise and shine, Luke."

I fluttered my eyes open, finding Calum face in my view as he gently shook me awake. It was still dark outside, and judging by the faint hum of morning birds outside it was still early. I groaned and rolled over, whacking him in the face with a spare pillow, "It's too early." I mumbled my eyes still heavy with sleep.

Calum sighed, shaking me once again, "I know, but you're coming with me. You promised."

I let out a long groan, but I pulled myself up. I had been meant to stay at Ashton's, but it had been pushed back a week. So, I'd ended up with Calum again. I think he wanted to keep an eye on me after going off with Finn, so he'd convinced Ashton to swap weeks.

We had arrived at his place last night just as the sun was setting. The moment Calum's eyes had fallen on me, I instantly felt the guilt rise in my stomach. I could see the disappointment in his eyes. Though he just thanked Ashton and gestured to me to come inside. I wondered if Ashton had even told him what had happened as he didn't move to bring it up.

The only comment Calum had made was that he needed my help tomorrow, but I hadn't payed a lot of attention to it. I guess this had been what he meant. I just hadn’t expected it be so early.

The crisp early morning air tugged at my skin as we trundled through the thick trees of the forest. It was heading towards Spring now, so I knew it would be warmer by lunch time. Not that the cold bothered me much these days.

I still had no idea what all this was for until up ahead I spotted two figures waiting underneath a tree on a nearby log. One had auburn-hair and the smaller boy beside her had hair of a similar colour but slightly darker.

The boy’s face lit up when he saw us, and both people gave us a small wave. It had to be Lewis and Kaylee. I realised that it was his first morning of training, so he was bound to be excited. Of course, that's what Calum wanted me here for.

"Mum wouldn't let me come by myself." Lewis frowns when we join him. He has his arms crossed as he looks back at Kaylee. "I'm thirteen, she'll let me go everywhere else on my own but apparently I'm not allowed by myself on a school morning even for this."

"She's only worried you were ditching school." Kaylee huffs. "This isn't any better for me either, I had to get up super early just to babysit you. I could be sleeping still you know."

Lewis glowered at her. I had a feeling he didn't like being called a baby by his older sister. I know I'd always hated when my brothers had babied me. It was tough being the youngest child.

I guess Lewis had told his mother about this as well, so we weren't sneaking around behind her back like we had with me. Calum must've been serious about this though, I guess we didn't have much time now he needed to learn fast.

"So, what are we learning today?" Lewis asked with excited eyes, as he danced around Calum, "I really want to learn to do that telepathy thing too, oh and the thing where you-."

"Whoa, whoa calm down." Calum laughs, patting him on the shoulder "All I want is you to practise shifting today. If you can get good at that then maybe, we'll get to the Telepathy stuff."

I thought it was quite funny to hear Calum talk like that considering I'd learnt how to do both of those things the first night. Lewis was a natural born though so I guess things were different.

Lewis grinned excitedly, "Finally."

I sat and waited over with Kaylee as Calum showed Lewis the ropes.

"So how did he drag you into this? I didn't think you were a morning person." Kaylee laughed, as I sat down beside her.

I shook my head, and sighed, "Did the wrong thing yesterday, so I think this is his way of getting back at me."

"I can hear you Luke," Calum had paused and was looking over at us. "Come make yourself useful instead of whining."

I let out a groan and Kaylee let out a small laugh. As I trotted back over to them.

Calum had me show Lewis how to shift at will. It took him a few tries, but he picked it up quickly as I had. Calum decided that he was finally ready to try using telepathy. His eyes lit up when he finally had the chance to use it.

_'This is amazing!'_ Lewis grinned.

When we were all done the four of us walked back towards school. Kaylee and Lewis split with us when we made it to the gate. I was about to continue walking when Calum pulled me back, "We've still got a while until school starts, come with me."

A pit of fear rose in my stomach, and everything I had felt the night before came rushing back. Silently, I followed him across the road to a laneway between the houses that lead back out into the forest.

"You know what this is about right?" He sighed as he pulled to a stop. His gaze was heavy on me.

I barely met his eyes, my head dizzy with anxiety, “If you’re referring to yesterday then yes.”

“I sure am.” Calum sighs, “Luke, just get it over with. What happened?”

"Look Finn had a notebook and I decided to follow it and I was an idiot okay, don't rub it in my face. I just needed answers Cal. I tried to call you but-" I spoke quickly.

"Whoa, wait a second, you were saying Finn had a notebook. What kind of notebook?” Calum frowned stopping me.

I took a breath and nodded, "He had mapped out where the attacks were going to be, it was like he was psychic. Sam, Lewis, us it was all there."

Calum frowned, letting out a small shiver, "But we don't know where he is now right?"

I bit my lip. "No, we don't. Alex said he was gone right after she arrived. We don't know if he managed to escape or what."

Calum frowned. "It's him isn't it...."

I shook my head quickly, "I'm not so sure."

Calum let out a frustrated sigh, "So let me guess the straight. Finn had a notebook with the details of all the places the Shadow Wolf had shown up. You followed it and it showed up, but you still don't think it's Finn?"

"He was right there next to me, Cal. I could see them both at the same time." I spoke. "It affected him too. Alex even said that the same symbol that was near Sam was next to us when she found us."

Calum's face paled, and he let out a small gasp. He quickly shook his head, with a haunted expression, "I wish you hadn't gone with him. I can't lose you too, Luke, not like that."

I could barely meet his eyes, I saw everything in them. We were all important to Calum, he couldn't bear to lose any of us. Especially after everything had been through these past few years. If he'd been torn apart by Sam I had a feeling losing one of us would hurt him even more.

"I'm sorry it was just I had a good lead and the bond was down and you weren't answering your phone." I frowned, continuing to look down. "I guess I thought I could take it on my own,"

"It's okay Luke, I understand what you did and it's somehow going to help us " Calum smiled grimly, "I think Finn knows more than his letting on. From what you're saying though I don't think he's the Shadow Wolf either. I think he's still alive then, either that or his bleed out in the forest somewhere but I doubt it."

I spoke, "Plus, that's twice I've seen him at the same time as it. At the dance we saw him standing there when we heard it."

Calum frowned, "True. We're running out of suspects though."

"Well I did think of a few more besides Jayden and such...what if it's a girl like Zoe or even Georgia, she turned up around the same time as the Shadow wolf..."

"Georgia was with me though Luke." Calum frowned, "Though she did go for a drink a little before Michael called me out. I had no idea of time that night...."

We exchanged glances, she was gone afterwards. Calum quickly shook his head, "It's not her Luke."

"How do you know?" I questioned.

Calum crossed his arms, "I'd be able to sense it surely."

I sighed, "I even thought it might be Kaylee. We never saw her with the Shadow wolf either..."

Calum nodded, "That is true, didn't you say she even told you boys about where to find her brother, it's suspicious that they would've been together in the middle of the party. Siblings usually avoid each other. I take it Zoe's on there too after what she did to you?"

I nodded quickly.

"Are you mad at me?" I questioned.

Calum shook his head, "Not as much as I was. As I said I can see what you did, I might have even done the same thing. I'm just scared of losing you Luke, or anyone for that matter."

"Thanks for hearing me out though." I nodded.

Calum nods, "When Ash told me I knew you had to have a reason for it. That's why I left you alone about it last night."

We headed back towards the school after that. The first thing I noticed was Georgia waiting at the gate, her eyes searching nervously. I raised an eyebrow at Calum, who shrugged as we began to walk past her.

"Hey Calum, do you have a minute?" She asked in a nervous but strong tone.

Both of us paused to stop.

"Uh, do you want me to leave or-" I spoke awkwardly moving back, as Calum moved closer.

Georgia quickly shook her head, "No, you can stay Luke."

Calum and I exchanged glances, but he nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"So, I had a great time at the dance." She started, "So uh I was thinking, Calum do you want to go on a date sometime? Maybe get some Pizza or go to a movie?" She grinned at him.

He stared at her, his eyes wide open. I notice his hand trembling as he gripped onto the school bag. He was in complete silence. Georgia looked between us the nervousness growing in her eyes, I could almost see her thoughts. She was worried she'd said the wrong thing.

Calum continued to stare at her though.

"He'll get back to you." I say quickly.

She looked a little confused but nodded.

"Uh...well uh see you later." She stuttered awkwardly, as she turned and walked away.

Even when she was gone Calum was still standing there seemingly frozen like a statue. I noticed a couple of people staring so I grab Calum's arm and pull him out behind one of the school buildings. He blinks for a few moments, before he mutters, "Oh my god."

He's silent again as he just shakes his head.

"Georgia asked me out on a date. Luke, what do I do?" He asks panicked as he looks at me with wide eyes.

Even though she'd just become one of suspects. I knew Calum liked her and besides if it turned out that we were wrong he could just call us through the bond and we could come and get him. Well at least that’s what I hoped, yesterday hadn’t been too good an example of that.

"You should go out with her, she obviously likes you and you like her, too don't you?" I reply.

Calum shuffles awkwardly before letting out a sigh. "Well yeah, but I can't..." Calum shakes his head. He puts his head in his hands running them through his hair. "It's too soon...I can't do this again..."

I sighed, this was what Michael had been worried about. I kind of wished that he was here, he would've known the right thing to say. I wondered if perhaps getting him to talk about it might help.

I let out a sigh, "Is it because of what happened with Sophie?"

Calum looked away, he played with the strap of his bag and went dead silent. I bit my lip I knew I shouldn’t have brought it up with him.

"Yes of course it's because of Sophie." He spoke in a soft voice.

It always came back to her for him. I understood by now that it was difficult for him to have lost her the way he had. I was sure he still blamed himself for what had happened. It would be difficult to move on from that.

"I blame myself every day for what happened to her." He said, surprising me that he had more to say on the topic, "I should've known. It wasn't worth the risk we took."

"You didn't know." I say.

"She just didn't want to be stuck in a wheelchair." Calum sighed, "She wanted more than that and I knew I had the answer."

I nodded.

"At least I saved a couple of people, huh?" He smiled at me, "I just wish it had been her too, you know."

I nodded, before speaking quietly, "You cared a lot about her, didn't you?"

"Yeah, she was amazing." Calum sighed wistfully, "It was like the whole room would light up in her presence, like the sun. She was kind but mischievous. The teachers always used to think she was an angel. But people who knew her the way Michael and I did knew otherwise."

She must've been special. Even the way Michael talked about her suggested as much.

Calum smiled, "You and Ash would've loved her too I'm sure...." He trailed off.

"I'm sure we would've." I agreed.

Calum gave a half-hearted smile, "I was glad she found out though." He spoke. "It was lucky it was just her considering we were on school-camp."

I could suddenly see a clear image in my mind of what Calum was telling me. He kept talking so I said nothing. I could see an image now of a dark green tent. Michael was sitting across from Calum with a DS in his hands. Suddenly a silhouette appears, causing them to jump. Then there's a zipping noise and a freckled blonde-haired girl appears in the tent opening. She must be Sophie. She grins.

"Sophie had come into our tent that night. We did it a lot on school camps even though the girls weren't supposed to be in there at that time." Calum explained as the scene continued. "Sometimes we'd tell ghost stories or the like..."

_"You know girls aren't allowed in, here right? If the teacher-" Michael says as he puts down his DS._

_"When have you ever cared for the rules, Clifford?" She grinned at him, as she climbed fully into the tent._

_"Well, never." He grinned back, "I just don't want to see you get sent home is all."_

_She rolled her eyes, "Come on. You know I'm much better than that. What the teachers don't know isn't going to hurt them. It's not like we're up to anything." She smiled, "Besides they like me."_

_"Teachers pet." Calum said quietly with a teasing grin._

_The girl rolled her eyes, "Whatever, move over both of you."_

_The two boys shuffled over, and she took the spot at the edge of the tent. She grinned lifting the torch light up to her face. "So, tomorrow morning we have an orienteering activity. We must be in groups of three or four, so I was wondering who's brave enough to come with me. Like you boys are good with directions, right?"_

_Michael puffed up his chest, giving a nod in Calum's direction. "Of course, we are. We'll never get lost when we're around."_

_"Good." She smiled. She stood up a few seconds later and grinned as she left the tent. "See you tomorrow,"_

I was surprised that I could hear it too, it was like Calum was showing me his memories like a movie. At some points it almost felt like I was there. I could still hear him talking, but this was different. Was he doing this? But how?

The scene seemed to flick over again, we seemed to be in the forest. Where I'd say they'd been camping the night before on the school camp. Calum and Michael are looking at a map with a bemused expression, the girl, Sophie I think snatches it off them.

_"I thought you boys were good at maps." She laughs, she makes a high-pitched imitating noise, "We'll never get lost with us around."_

_Michael rolls his eyes, "Normally we are."_

_"Will you two stop it and just pay attention to the map, I think we go left." Calum frowns, pointing towards one of the trails._

_"No way, we have to go right. We've been left a billion times." Sophie protests._

_There's a loud roaring noise, and Michael and Calum pause, "Did you hear that?"_

_"Hear what?" Sophie frowned, looking at the two of them suspiciously. I realised that it must've been something only werewolves could here._

_A few moments later a giant animal appeared, the memory of it was fuzzy, it looked more like a shadow than anything I recognized. But as Michael had once described to me it had sharp teeth bared as it snarled at the three of them. Michael pulled both back with wide eyes up at the beast. The three stood there trembling for a moment. Until Calum pushed past him racing forwards towards the beast. I saw him look back for a moment his eyes flickering with golden._

_"Cal, no!" Michael yelled, just as Calum raced forward shifting as he did so._

_Calum's eyes glowed brightly with golden, his teeth bared as he growled at it. Sophie was clinging onto Michael, her face wide with shock. The large creature ran in fright. Slowly Calum glanced back at Michael and Sophie the fear evident in his eyes._

_"Calum?" She questioned to the wolf, she glanced at Michael hesitantly judging his reaction as she griped onto him tighter. Calum steps back afraid, his eyes on the two of them._

_Michael looks over at Sophie who's still clinging onto him for dear life. "Well I guess the wolf's out the bag now." He jokes._

_Sophie raises an eyebrow at him, "Is that Calum? Is he really a werewolf?"_

_Michael glances at Calum who gives a small nod. "Yeah it is."_

_"He won't hurt me, right?" She spoke softly._

_Michael speaks calmly, "He won't."_

_Slowly she peels herself from Michael, and carefully walks towards Calum. Filled with uncertainty Calum takes a few steps back. She looks at him both ways. She gives a nervous smile, "It is you."_

_Calum flinches as Sophie races forward and puts her arms around him. There's a small smile on Michael's face as he watches on. Calum seems to relax_

_"Maybe let him go so he can shift back." Michael speaks._

_With a small gasp, Sophie moves away from him. Michael instructs her to move back a little. A moment later Calum shifts back and Sophie stares at him with wide eyes. "Wow, that's incredible." She gasps._

_Calum looks at her sheepishly, "Uh, so just so you know, Michael's kind of one too."_

_Michael shot an angry glance in Calum's direction. Calum sighed, "She may as well know about you too."_

_Sophie's eyes were instantly on Michael, looking him up and down. She let out a small gasp and a moment later tears were streaming down her face._

_"I'm sorry, I hope we're not scaring you." Michael blushed, he took a small step back._

_Sophie's still crying, but a smile is on her face. "Of course not. I still like you guys, even if you have tails."_

_Michael and Calum both grin at that._

The scene begins to change again, perhaps to a different memory. It's different this time, we're at our school again at the gate. I can see a girl up ahead with long blonde hair, she looks a little bit older than they had in the last scene. She turns and waves at Calum and Michael who are walking together.

_"You two are ridiculous, you should've asked her out already." Michael says._

_"You know why I can't." Calum glared at him._

_"She already knows, it's fine." Michael exasperated, throwing his arms in the air._

_Calum bit his lip at that._

_"We're meeting up at the Game Centre in an hour, I'll wait and you're going to ask her. Okay?" Michael prompted._

_"Fine." Calum frowned at him._  
  
The scene flickered again, and we were outside of the Game Centre, Sophie stands there looking at her phone and her face lights up when Calum arrives.

_"I have something I need to tell you." They both say when they meet._

_"You go first."_

_"No, you."_

_"I insist."_

_"Just say it together!" I hear a voice yell._

_Sophie and Calum glance at one another with alarmed expressions._

_"I know your there Michael." Sophie giggles._

_A moment later Michael emerges from around the corner. A massive grin on his face. He'd planned this whole thing, didn't he?_

_Both Sophie and Calum glanced at one another._

_"So, do you?" Calum asked softly._

_Sophie nodded, "Of course."_

_She then looked back at Michael, "Now stop meddling with us."_

_"Aww, but I was going to suggest this awesome place to go and-"_

_Calum and Sophie both laughed, "Enough."_

Calum sucked in a deep breath. Suddenly, I was back sitting with him again. I could see the hint of tears forming in his eyelids.

"It's okay if you want to stop." I spoke quietly. I wonder if he knew that I was able to see everything not just hear it from him.

"No, one more." Calum shook his head. "This part is just the toughest."

My stomach sinks, what is he going to show me next then?

I don't wait long for my answer.

_This time we're in a hospital room. There's so much life in here, dozens of get well cards lined up on the bench. Calum placed a bunch of yellow wattle flowers beside the bed. I see Sophie pale sitting in a chair by the window, she's covered with bandages on her head and around her legs. I can see a few bruises and cuts on her face. A wheelchair waiting beside her._

_"They're pretty, I like those." Sophie grinned back at him, as he sat and joined her._

_Calum nodded, looking back at them, "Yeah they're your favourite right?"_

_She nodded. "You know me too well."_

_Calum looked down, "You go home, tomorrow right?" Sophie nodded, and Calum continued, "Well I was thinking what if you could walk again?"_

_Sophie raised an eyebrow, pushing the bandage on her face up with it. "It would be a freaking miracle, but we all know it isn't going to happen. My spine was too badly injured in the accident."_

_"Michael should've died you know. He had an arrow straight in the chest." Calum said, looking out the window, "It was a miracle he survived."_

_"Wait, Michael nearly died?" She gasped, "Heck Calum I thought you guys were werewolves not the living dead or something."_

_Calum shook his head, "You're not getting my point. I saved his life."_

_Sophie caught on, "Wait, so that's why he's a werewolf? Oh my god are you suggesting what I think your suggesting Cal?" Sophie gasped._

_Calum nodded._

_"Do you think it would work? I'd be able to walk again?" She spoke with wide eyes, she paused for a moment, "It wouldn't be too annoying having me in the pack would it, like it wouldn't upset Michael with how together we are."_

_"You know Michael loves you nearly more than I do."_

_Sophie laughed, "Only because I'm the only one that will join in on his practical jokes."_

_"True. True." Calum smiles. "So, what do you say?"_

_"Well having to howl at the moon once a month sounds like a fair trade." Sophie grins._

_"You and I both know it's not like that." Calum rolls his eyes._

_"You boys do have to shift though right? Isn't that why the both of you go out there once a month."_

_"Well yeah."_

_Calum frowns, his next words serious, "I should warn you though, it doesn't always work not everyone survives."_

_Sophie sighed, "I know I should've died in the accident Calum." She gestured to the wheelchair, "I'm glad I still get to be here with you every day, but I can't live like this. I'd rather have a tail like you two or the other alternative if that's the way it's going to be."_

_Calum nodded, "Will we try tomorrow?"_

_"Tomorrow?" She questioned._

_"It's the full moon in two days' time, so yeah it's best we try now." Calum nods._

_Sophie nodded. "Okay."_

The scene evolved quickly, next thing I knew we were out in the forest late at night. Sophie's wheelchair was gone but she lies limply in Calum's arms.

_"Stay with me, Cal." Sophie sighed, her voice dry and breathless on her blue tinged lips._

_"I'll never leave your side." Calum promised, with a nod._

_He pulled her closer. Shaking his head as he looked over her._

_I heard a rustling of leaves, causing Calum to tense. Then a shadow appeared, and it was Michael. He fell to his knees, I could see twigs and leaves scattered through his hair. He looked over at Calum, "No, she can't. She's going to survive she has to."_

_Calum simply shook his head, and Michael deflated._

_"Michael...." Sophie gasped at his appearance, her head lolling to the side to look at him, her eyes lighting up, "You came."_

_"I did." He gave her a half-hearted smile, "Though you're not looking too good Soph."_

_She shook her head, giving a little cough, "I'm certainly not at my best am, I?"_

_He took a deep breath, looking at Calum, "This is just a side effect surely. She'll be fine when the moon rises won't she?"_

_Calum sighed, "Listen."_

_Michael closed his eyes and frowned, I knew what he could hear, her slowing heartbeat. His eyes flashed open. "No!"_

_"It's alright, I'm fine with it honest." She smiled up at them._

_Michael shook his head, "You can't be, not after everything that happened. Cal there's something you can do right?"_

_Calum shook his head._

_Sophie shook her head too, "Thank you boys for everything. I know this didn't work, but it's honestly better this way. I was able to walk again, even if it was only for a few moments. I was meant to die in the accident anyway."_

_Calum closed his eyes, and sucked in a deep breath._

_"I love you, Cal. Through hell and back." She smiled as her lips landed on Calum's. Warm meeting cool. She fell back a few moments later, the effort clearly draining her._

_Her eyes landed then on Michael, she whispered, "You need to make sure he moves on from me, okay? I can't be the last time he finds love. Some other girl should be as lucky as me"_

_Michael simply nods, I can see him struggling to find the words to say._

_Calum looks up and I notice that the moon is beginning to rise._

_"I love you, Sophie, forever." Calum says softly._

_She stops coughing, long enough to smile, "Forever, we'll meet again."_

_Like that she closes her eyes, her body growing limp. It's over. Calum glances up and lets out a howling wail. Michael watches in silence his eye lids building with tears. Then a moment later they race off as wolves._

We're both crying. I rubbed my eyes, I knew I was crying for a girl I'd never met but it broke my heart everything Calum had gone through with Sophie. Especially after seeing some of it for myself. He had every reason not to love someone ever again. I felt even more grateful for everything he'd done for me.

I notice a shadow appear from around the corner, I rub at my eyes still covered in tears. Noticing the bright red hair a few moments later.

"Michael how long have you been standing there?" I frown up at him.

"Bond kind of tipped me off...." He frowned, "So I came here. I've been here a while."

Calum and I both frowned as we exchanged glances.

"The last thing she said to me was that you had to move on from her." Michael continued, "Luke's right. I heard what happened. This is your chance Cal, don't you see?"

I nodded. For everything that happened he needed to give Georgia a chance. It would be good for him, we hoped.

 

He sighs, "Fine, what have I got to lose?"  
  
  



	12. Mistake

  
"Wow, so you finally asked her, and you're going on a date tonight? Amazing!" Ashton asked with a shocked expression as we met up with him in the hallway on the way to class on the Thursday. The hallway was buzzing with people as they moved from class to class. We hadn't exactly mentioned to Ashton all week, so this was the first he'd heard about it.

Calum nodded nervously, "Well she asked me first, but yeah we are."

Michael grinned as he wrapped his arm around me, "We should really give some credit to Luke over here. Without him the whole thing would've been a mess. Cal totally froze up when she asked him."

"Nice one, Luke." Ashton grinned.

Calum shot Michael a glare. All of us knew there was a lot more to why Calum had frozen up. It wasn't as if he hadn't wanted to go out with Georgia. More that he feared what could go wrong if he did.

I nodded quietly, slightly startled by all the praise. All I had really done was listen to Calum. I guess I was good at that then?

"So, just where are you two lovebirds off to anyway?" Michael asked with a sly grin in Calum's direction.

Calum didn't respond for a moment, he fiddled with his bag strap instead not making eye contact. The three of us frowned. They did know where they were going right?

"You're still working that out, huh? How about the movies or taking her out for a super fancy meal?" Michael suggested.

Calum shook his head, "Well we were thinking of getting Pizza, and I happened to mention something about the lake in the forest. So, if the weathers alright tonight we're thinking of ordering some and taking it there."

The three of us exchanged nervous glances. An awful feeling rose in my stomach. He couldn't be serious, he didn't want to go out in the forest for a date, did he? Out of everyone I wouldn't have thought he would be so careless. The four of us had so many discussions about being careful out there until we were certain that the Shadow Wolf was long gone. I would've thought going out on a date would've come under that but obviously it didn't.

"Is that a good idea with the Shadow Wolf around?" Ashton speaks, before Michael or I could ask him about that.

Calum shrugs, "I know, but we'll be fine. After what happened at the dance I'm pretty sure it's afraid of me. Besides, it’s you three I'm more worried about."

I frowned, thinking of what had happened to me only on Monday afternoon. I couldn't understand how Calum could be so flippant about the whole thing. I'd nearly died, yet he didn't seem concerned by it at all.

Sure, that night at the dance Calum had stared it down it had fled like a lost puppy. However, I remembered what Alex had said about the crystal she'd used to help me escape. If the Shadow Wolf was expecting it, it wouldn't react. Besides should the Shadow Wolf appear it wasn't like he could shift anyway. It would just be like history repeating itself, I could only think of the scene I'd been shown of how Sophie had found out.

Ashton nudged at Michael and mouthed, 'Do something.'

Michael sighed, though he shot Calum an uncertain look, "Well I guess you might have a point then. If you think it's not going to come, then it probably won't."

Ashton stared at Michael. I was shocked as well, why wasn’t Michael doing anything about this. I opened my mouth ready to say something when Michael shook his head at me.

 _‘Let him go.’_ He said.

From there we walked in silence until we pulled up to a stop as we reached the football oval. I could see our PE class gathering in their uniforms on the edge of the football pitch. My stomach sunk, as I knew I would have to miss out on it yet again. I was starting to miss the class as it had always been one of my better subjects at school. I sighed and instantly looked over at Michael.

"Alright where's my note?" I sighed to him, as I held my hand out.

However, Michael didn't reply for a moment, his eyes were searching over the oval. I noticed that both Ashton and Calum were doing the same. He exchanged a look with Calum who nodded. I raised an eyebrow, what was going on?

"Well, looks like we're doing running today," Michael grinned, "Luke, I think it's about time you joined in."

I blinked at him. I knew I would have to go back eventually but I hadn't expected it to be today. I guess it had been a couple of months now since I became a werewolf, and I'd sat on the sidelines for the entire time since. Ashton who had been a werewolf for about a year now had joined in again once we came back to Rosetta Park. There was the fear while we were still learning that we didn't know how to control our abilities enough to hurt others during these kinds of activities. I'd been playing off a severely injured ankle since I started here.

I nodded slowly, though I was more than a little nervous. Yet, Michael and Calum seemed to think I was ready though and I believed them.

Calum nodded, "Yeah, I think so too. I mean if it's just Cross Country it's not like you can hurt anyone but yourself."

I grimaced.

Calum bit his lip, "What I'm trying to say is that it's a good place to start. I mean I'd hate to think what would happen if we started you off on something like soccer or cricket."

Both Michael and Ashton nodded in quick agreement.

"You'll be fine." Ashton promised with a warm smile.

I let out a sigh, I guess I didn't have a lot of choice. "Alright, I'll do it."

The others seemed satisfied with this. So, we began to head with the rest of our class towards the changing rooms. I noticed our teacher was waiting in front of the hall where the change rooms were, and was checking the students off as they entered. Her eyes fell on me immediately as she held her hand out. Clearly, she was expecting to receive my note. However, we walked straight past her and a stunned expression came over the teachers face.

"Luke, you're going to be participating in my class today?" She gasped as she looked over the four of us.

"Sure am Miss." I nodded. Feeling nervous but slightly smug about the whole thing.

"I'm glad to hear it. I heard from your last school that you're quite the impressive runner." She continued.

A wave of fear came over me. I exchanged glances with the others, who were looking at me with shocked expressions. They knew I was fast, but I guess they hadn't realised I was fast before an of this. The teacher had no idea either, if the teachers at my last schools thought I'd been good before than I would be even better now. So much so that the other students wouldn't stand a chance. Not that I could do any of that with such an unfair advantage. My stomach sunk.

"I'm looking forward to seeing it Luke, hopefully your injury won't have slowed you down." She smiled as her eyes moved onto the group of students coming in behind us.

I nodded slowly, though I could feel the pressure building as we walked away. As I looked around at the others I noticed their uncertain expressions straight away.

"Maybe you should wait a week..." Michael frowned, once were out of earshot. "She's going to be watching for you. I'll write you a note again if you want it."

Ashton nodded too, "I think we're starting swimming in a few weeks, perhaps that might be a better start."

Calum waved his hands at the both, giving the scathing looks. "Enough both of you. It's fine. If she thinks he's a fast runner, then so what. If Luke's only a little bit faster than his last school, she wouldn't even know the difference as she's never seen him run before. Besides, she already knows Luke's participating today, so wouldn't it be odd If he suddenly turns up with a note?"

Ashton and Michael look at one another and nod.

"I guess that's fine. We're all with him, and we're fast as well. So, no one should notice." Ashton begins.

"Wait if you say you still run and that you're quite fast, does that mean you try to win?" I ask them.

The three of them exchange glances and grin.

"We try not to make it obvious. We might not be first, but we're usually near the front." Calum explains.

"There's only so much you can do." Michael agrees, "I for one just get out there and all I want to do is just run. There's no way we could keep down with the stragglers. You'll see what I mean quick I'm sure."

"All we're saying is enjoy the run, but try not to get to regionals." Calum smiled.

The four of us get changed into our PE uniforms, and join the group of boys from our class that are lined up just outside of the hall. I sigh in relief, this is just like every other high school cross country race that I've been in. I guess this was a good place to start.

A few moments later the teacher yelled 'go' and suddenly there was a flurry of students moving forward. Instantly I felt a wave of excitement come over me, without even thinking I raced forward as if this was just one of our normal runs through the forest.

 _'LUKE!'_ I hear somebody yell, I ignore it for a moment as if it were just a fly buzzing. The rush of the trees and the movement drown the sound out and I just focus on my steps.

Then again with more force this time, _'LUKE! STOP!'_

Involuntarily my body jerks to a stop. I blink in confusion, as Michael, Calum and finally Ashton pull up beside me. They don't look angry, but I can see sympathy in their eyes. I look around us, there's no one from our class around, how fast did I run?

 _'I know it's hard, but run with us.'_ Calum thought looking directly into my eyes.

I nodded, and I took off with the three of them a few seconds later. It wasn't long before I felt it again. I was more aware than I had been, but all I could feel was this sense that every part of me wanted to race and to win. Quickly I felt my mind grow numb, my body hummed at the movement as my pace quickened. I felt someone pull on my arm, and a moment later I was falling.

I found my face planted in the dirt with something heavy landing on top of me a moment later. I looked up to see Ashton.

"I'm sorry Luke." He blushed, "But seriously you're moving too fast. You need to stop for a moment and breathe."

"I want to run." I mumbled with crossed arms, my own words surprising me.

"It's okay. I know." Ashton nodded, as he helped me to stand up from the dirt, "We all want to."

I felt dreadful. Why couldn't I just do this? I know I'd never tried to pull back before. Yet, the others were all capable of it, but I just couldn't seem to do it. I let out a loud huff. The students that were just passing gave us odd glances.

Michael who had come up beside Ashton sighed. "It's okay Luke. The full moon tomorrow so it's probably just making it worse." He said as he patted me on the shoulder, "Let's just make it to the finish point."

I nodded quickly. I felt a bit like a child when Michael and Ashton both took an arm each and made me run with them so that I didn't get too fast.

"Think of this as training Luke." Calum spoke. "Next time you'll be fine on your own."

When we made it near a corner Michael quickly gestured to me to put my arm around his shoulder and Ashton's and limp. I raised an eyebrow but followed along. The teacher looked a little surprised when we came back like that. It suddenly occurred to me what Michael intended me to do.

"My foot started hurting again, Miss." I told her. "So, Ashton and Michael helped me back here."

Ashton and Michael both nodded quickly as if to prove my point. She raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Alright, go gets changed boys."

We start to walk up to the change rooms, Calum and Ashton walk ahead of us, and from behind Michael grins at me, “Nice one Luke.”

I can’t help but feel a little smug at the praise. I was getting quite good at covering situations like this up.

There’s barely anyone in the change rooms when we arrive. There’s a few of the boys that were a little way ahead of us. Then my eyes catch on something red in colour on the wall. I focus in on it, and my heart thumps in realisation as I pull to a stop. No, it couldn’t be. Not here. Yet, there it was.

"Luke, keep moving." Michael speaks, angrily. "Wait, what are you- "

“Oh- “

The two of us stood in silence for a moment just staring at it. A few seconds later, Calum and Ashton joined us. Students who were coming into the change rooms glared at us as they pushed past.

"Someone wouldn't just draw that symbol for the hell of it." I finally spoke.

"Do you think someone here-?" Ashton spoke quietly.

Michael walked towards it, running his hand along the concrete. He pulled his hand away the residue of the red spray paint evident on his fingers.

"Someone's been here." He frowned. “Recently too.”

"Yeah, but who? Finn's gone." Ashton spoke quietly.

"Someone that wants us to know the Shadow Wolf is still here." Calum frowned.

**********

Later that night Michael, Ashton and I were camped out in the den behind Calum's house. We had yearbooks scattered all over the floor and any sort of evidence that we had been able to round up during the day as to who had left that symbol in the change rooms.

Calum had left about an hour ago for his date. Which we were surprised was still on after the symbol we'd found this afternoon. Michael had suggested with a mischievous grin that we should go spy on them. Ashton and I had quickly shut the idea down. We'd done our work. So, I think Ashton's plan was to distract him here instead.

I was concerned that Calum was making a big mistake. We still had no idea to the identity of the Shadow Wolf. Plus, that symbol today has seemed as though it was warning. Besides I held the fear that Georgia was the Shadow Wolf. I was afraid that she was using Calum just to eventually hurt him. Especially as she had arrived in town the same time as it. It was a coincidence it had to be. I guess I didn't trust people much anymore. Part of me hoped my hunch was wrong.

"So, someone at our school has to know what's going on." Michael frowned, "While we were in class someone left that there, probably knowing that we'd find it."

"Do you think they're in our class though?" Ashton frowned, "Anyone from any class could've snuck in and done it."

"Precisely why I've made this list." Michael grinned, passing a piece of paper towards us. There were two headings, people in our PE class and those that weren't. There was a mixture of names both male and female. "All these people have been known to stir up trouble, plus the guys that we’re already in there when we came back."

"So, do we think they're a werewolf as well, or the Shadow Wolf?" I asked.

"Could be either." Michael frowned. "Maybe we need to go around school and see if anyone smells like wolf."

"It still could be Finn you know. It would be easy for him to sneak in to school. Even if he is pretending to be dead?" Ashton frowned.

Michael sighed, "We don't know. All I think is that the notebook was a ploy to get Luke out there and to let the Shadow Wolf hurt him."

"So, you think Finn might be working with the Shadow Wolf?" I asked. It would explain how he knew where it was going to be at least.

"Maybe, I don't know. I mean what if there's a whole pack of Shadow Wolves?" Ashton suggested.

I groaned in frustration as I leant back onto the desks chair. My head was throbbing, and I felt my eyes fall outside to the growing darkness around the cabin. I'd been feeling a little off and uneasy tonight, which was odd considering we never were sick. I guess it was the full moon tomorrow night and I usually a felt a little odd like this just before it. Maybe it was just a super powerful one.

"I'm not sure. You might be onto something Ashton. However, when I went back to where Luke encountered it with Finn, the scent was like that of a hunter." Michael frowned, "It obviously wasn't Finn or Luke as he doesn't smell anything like one anymore. Plus, I could catch the scent of at least two wolves as well. My only guess at that is that the Hunters had gone to investigate too."

How had the hunters known? I guess they knew everything. Something still bothered me.

"Was the symbol there though?" I ask.

Michael nods nervously, "Yeah, it was. I think it could be a mark of death. So, it's a miracle you're sitting here then."

Suddenly pencils went flying in the air and both Michael and I's head snapped up in the direction that they had flew from. Ashton let out a loud groan.

"Ugh, I can't concentrate on this anymore." Ashton sighed as he tapped one of the other pencils in frustration, "It's not even a full moon tonight, and it's like I can feel it."

I blinked in surprise, I'd only been thinking that few moments ago.

"Yeah, I agree. It does feel like it's a full moon tonight doesn't it? Michael frowned, "Cal definitely said it was tomorrow though.”

"Funny you should both say that because I was thinking the same thing. It feels exactly like a full moon." I nod.

The three of us glance at one another. If all of us were thinking it, then it was more than a little odd. All three of us couldn't be imagining something like it.

"What if Calum had the nights messed up?" Ashton asks nervously as he twirls around the pencil.

"He never messes it up..." Michael frowns.

However, a second later he has his phone out and is tapping away at it. When I look over his shoulder I notice him enter the words, 'when is the full moon this month.'. He makes a few more clicks and his eyes widen. He doesn't speak for a few moments. Ashton and I look at him expectantly.

"No freaking way, it's tonight." He mutters.

I stare at him for a second he was joking? Then he shows us the screen and my heart stops.

"Oh god, Cal." Is all I manage to say.

Fear quickly grows in both Michael and Ashton's eyes. I was sure that Calum shifting into a wolf on their first date wasn't part of the plans.

"We better hurry up." Ashton frowns as he scrolls through Michael's phone, "Says we have twenty-five minutes until it comes up."

"I'll try and get onto him then." Michael mutters.

He scrunches up his nose and blinks a few times. Ashton and I watch him nervously. "Damn, the bond's not working."

Ashton and I both groan. Typical, the bond was always down when we needed it most.

"Do you know where he decided to go?" I asked Michael with a frown. The only clues we had was forest or Pizza. Let's just hope they hadn't decided to go to a movie or other enclosed space or we were in for a lot more trouble.

Michael bit his lip, "Not sure, I only know as much as you do. We're going to have to work out where his gone though. He doesn't know."

"I'll try ringing him first." Ashton nods, already scrolling through Michael's phone to find Calum's number.

We wait with baited breath as the phone painfully clicks over to the voice announcing that the person we were trying to contact could not be reached. We all let out a collective groan, as Ashton tried again. The call went through the second time, but the line rung out completely.

"Dammit Calum pick up your phone." Ashton growls as he passes the phone back to Michael. I guess he probably would've put his phone to silent anyway.

"New plan." Michael frowned, "I can sense him. I think they're out near the lake where Calum said they might go."

"Romantic." I smiled.

Ashton rolls his eyes, "Well it is a date."

"Unfortunately, it looks like we're going to need to crash it." Frowns Michael, "He's not answering."

Ashton and I both nod, and we quickly begin to stand up. I freeze as I remember the one thing we were forgetting.

"What about Lewis, we have to let him know too." I frowned.

"Shit, yeah we do." Ashton frowned.

Michael quickly pulls out his phone and shoots Lewis a text.

**_Michael: Hey Lewis, sorry for late notice. We messed up nights, the full moon is tonight. Stay safe._ **

"Hope he'll be fine on his own." I spoke, noticing how Michael wrote stay safe at the end of the message.

"Hope so, but tonight Calum's just a little more important that the kids second full moon. Kaylee will be able to help him. I mean she was all for it when we thought it was tomorrow." Michael agreed.

"Let's just hope neither of them went out tonight." Ashton frowned.

"Anyway, enough talking we only have twenty-five minutes or less left to find Calum before he wolfs out on his first date." Michael spoke.

Ashton and I looked at each other uneasily, but nodded. “Let’s go.”  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear! Will they make it in time?!  
> Thanks for reading! ^^


	13. Change

My heart races as fast as I do, as I chase behind Michael and Ashton. I can feel my focus wavering, as I sense the moon tugging at me to shift. However, I know that we can't. The bond is down, and we'll need our voices to communicate if we find Calum. Especially, as once we shift it'll be game over. The three of us won't be able to shift back again until the moon has passed its peak.

I frown as I look up at the moons current position, we might already be too late. With the moon this strong I wouldn't be surprised if Calum had already shifted as well. Hopefully we'll find him soon.

"Geez, it's strong tonight." Michael frowned as we pulled to a stop at the edge of a cliff-face. I noticed how his jaw was locked as he gritted his teeth. I quickly nodded in agreement, if even Michael was having trouble we were running out of time.

"I hope he's alright." Ashton frowned, "I can't sense him."

Michael and I both nodded. I couldn't sense him either. My fears was quickly building. It sucked. We'd always been so careful whenever it was a full moon. We'd meet up and make sure we were far from anyone. A small mistake on its date was all it took to create chaos.

"Let's keep moving, we must be getting close now." Michael frowned.

With a quick nod, we began to work our way along the valley line. I mentally counted the seconds knowing that every step we took in the wrong direction was another second we were losing. It had already been ten minutes. I'm pretty sure we'd had twenty and that had to have included leaving the den.

That was when I felt a massive pain shoot through my fingertips, I let out a loud yelp as I stopped. Alarmed, Michael and Ashton both skidded to a stop.

"Luke, are you alright?" Michael paused.

I lifted my hand up to the light, and there was a frown from both of us. I had claws.

Michael frowned, and quickly took my hand into his as if he could hide it. He looked into my eyes. "Just a little longer. You can hold it."

"Ah!" Ashton yelled in a pained yell. Michael and I quickly looked in his direction.

"Uh, Mikey..." Ashton frowned, "I've got the same problem."

Michael immediately looked stressed. Stopping all of us from shifting was going to be a lot harder than we thought. "Okay, don't panic either of you. Just stick behind me, if either of you shift. You shift okay. There only needs to be one of us to talk to Calum."

Ashton and I exchanged nervous glances but nodded.

The three of us continued to run again. Ashton and I both flanking Michael on either side. Our gazes kept passing over at one another, as if we were checking to make sure neither of us had shifted yet. I didn't want to be the first one to shift, but as I felt my gums begin to sting I wasn't so sure I was going to have a lot of choice. I hated being the baby.

"Calum! No!" I suddenly heard a girlish voice laugh.

I exchanged glances with both Ashton and Michael, the three of us gave each other a quick nod as we stopped. Michael walked over towards a group of trees, and motioned for us to follow.

For a moment I forgot what we were out here for. The two of them were seated on a picnic blanket with pizza and other food neatly laid out on a picnic blanket. They both had smiles on their faces. I'd seen Calum happy, but never like this.

My stomach sunk, as I remembered why were we were here. I hated knowing that we were going to have to break such a pleasant scene up.

I feel my teeth extend, and the rest of my skin prickle the way it usually does right before I'm about to shift. If the claws and teeth were hard enough to stop then this would be impossible. I closed my eyes for a moment and willed it to stop.

"CALUM!" I hear a voice call out, and my eyes spring open to find Ashton has leapt from out of the trees and racing towards them both with his hands in his pocket. Michael growls in annoyance and races out after him, his hand trying to grab after him. I follow behind them, just hoping that I'm not the one who ends up spoiling things.

Calum turns up to face Ashton and Georgia follows his gaze. They both look at us in confusion as Michael pulls Ashton back and I stop behind them.

"Guys?!" Calum asked in shock. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Quickly! You need to come with us." Michael yells in a desperate tone.

"Why?" Calum snaps, crossing his arms.

Then I feel it, like a blast through my entire body. We're out of time. I don't have to look behind me to know that the moon has risen behind us and is reaching its peak. I can't hold it any longer.

When I glance at the others I notice Calum's eyes are glowing with golden. He looks up at the moon, and he gasps. He starts to get up but his whole body is beginning to tremble. As is my own. He starts to run towards us. Yet it's too late, like a domino effect each of us shifts.

As my paws hit the ground I let out a large huff in frustration, as I turn to look up where Georgia is now standing. She's trembling, and her eyes are wide with fear. I can't imagine how afraid she must be right now. She did just watch the four of us turn into wolves after all.

I notice Calum cower slightly, and Michael quickly bounds over to him. Just as Georgia looks back over the four of us. Her eyes wide with shock.

"What the heck?" She yells, when none of us respond. "Calum? Guys?"

Like a switch has been turned on I can suddenly feel Calum's emotions again. I can sense that every fear he had about her finding out had come to the surface. He was petrified.

Michael licks Calum on the face. Calum nudges him away.

"Is that wolf really you?" She questions in a weak voice.

Calum seems to nod.

Georgia stares at him for a moment more, and I think she's about to run away from us. Yet there's nothing we can say to her, it's not like anyone can shift back. Well at least not for a few more moments. Chasing after her if she ran would just make things worse.

I notice Calum's eyes glow with a brighter golden, and his body twists and trembles. A moment later and his standing there human again. Though I notice that his eyes are still tinged with golden and that he is still trembling. He was fighting so hard for her and I could see it.

"I can explain." He speaks in a strained voice.

Her frown narrows, "What the fact that you and these three turn into wolves?"

"Yes, exactly."

She frowns at him, as she crosses her arms. I can see her examining him with her eyes.

"I'm- we’re all werewolves- "Calum begins, in a weak voice, "The full moon it- "

"I get it. Exactly like the stories," Georgia replies, breaking him off with her words. Calum stares at her surprised. She didn't look as freaked out now. There was something icy in her tone though.

"Look Calum, don't tell me anymore." She speaks, her glare poisonous, "I promise I won't tell a soul but with you like this. Well it isn't going to work between us."

I stare at them in confusion, and I notice the way Calum's face pales. Michael moves closer towards him, I can sense the concern through the bond.

"Thanks for dinner, but I'm going." She spoke, before she broke into a run towards town.

"Georgia wait, please." He calls after her. "Just let me explain."

Georgia freezes and shakes her head, her eyes sympathetic, "Sorry Cal, but I just can't." She takes a deep breath, "I can't love someone like you."

With that she races off again. The words aren't directed at me, but they still hurt just as much. My gaze quickly flicks to Calum, and my heart sinks deeper into my chest. It was as if he had been frozen solid. His eyes are vacant and still shimmering with golden as he watches her go. When she's out of sight his gaze moves up to the stars above us and the full moon the centrepiece of all of them. The three of us move closer, but he barely seems to notice the three of us standing there.

We stand there for a few moments, there's not much we can say. Guilt riddles me. If only we had looked sooner and hadn't just relied on Calum's judgement then maybe tonight could've been different.

"No." Calum finally mutters, "I thought it would be better this time."

I notice Michael manages to shift back. Cautiously he moves to put his arms around Calum and pull him into a hug. Calum pushed back on him, almost causing Michael to fall back in surprise. Michael stares at him in confusion.

"I can't believe it, I lost her too because of this stupid curse!" He yelled, tears forming in his eyelids.

I bit my lip, this was hitting him so hard. He rarely called this whole werewolf thing a curse. I felt so powerless because I was stuck as a wolf right now, I could use the bond but after earlier I wasn't sure if it was working.

"Someone else will come along Cal." Michael tried again in a soothing voice. His hand reached out to Calum, still only meeting air.

Calum glared up at him, tears falling, "Don't you see, Mikey? Sophie, Georgia it's all the same. Why am I so stupid?"

"Maybe Georgia will come around." Michael spoke quietly.

Calum shakes his head, "She was petrified of me. It's over." He sighs, "Besides if she does she'll probably end up like Sophie anyway."

"Don't talk like that." I hear Ashton say. I whip my head around to where he had been, to find that he too had managed to shift back. His eyes are shining with golden still and his hands were trembling. Besides that, he seemed to be holding it. "None of those things mean its over."

"It is Ash, you can't understand." Calum spoke.

I gritted my teeth I hated being the only one who couldn't talk right now. I guess Ashton had shifted back so maybe I could too. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I felt the change happen, and grinned when I realised that it had worked. I could quickly feel the moon trying to force me back, but I hoped I could hold it a bit longer. My hands were still trembling, but I still seemed to be holding it.

"But I can." I spoke.

Calum turned back to me, with a surprised expression.

"I saw everything you showed me Cal. It's a shame this happened but it was just an accident. She's probably still in shock. Maybe if you talk to her- "I say.

"Luke enough." Calum growls, I quickly shut my mouth staring at him in silence. I know if I wanted it badly enough I could challenge him, but it wasn't worth the fight. It occurred to me that Calum was beyond reason at this point. Even Michael’s words weren’t helping.

Michael shoots him a look.

"I've lost too many people because of this. I can't take it anymore." Calum says next.

Michael looks uncertain, "You still have us, Cal. Plus you're mum and sister too."

Calum holds Michael's gaze for a moment, and he takes a deep breath, "Which is exactly why I can't be here anymore. I don't want to hurt all of you too."

I blink, stunned by Calum's words. Michael's expression tells a similar story.

"Cal, what are you talking about, you're not going to hurt us?" Ashton frowns.

Calum shakes his head, and suddenly he grabbed at Michael's outstretched hand and took it in his own. Michael raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're Alpha now, Mikey."

I stare in confusion. Why was Calum acting like this? Fear sinks into the pit of my stomach, he wasn't leaving, was he? Besides Michael couldn't be Alpha. I'd been taught that you had to be born a werewolf and he certainly wasn't. Michael's expression showed that he was just as stunned. A second later both their eyes glow with a bright gold. My chest aches and I can't help but let out a small whimper. I hear a similar noise from Ashton's direction.

A check of the bond and I realise that I can't sense Calum anymore, only Michael. Oh no, he didn't.

"Cal, no." Michael says, just as his eyes fade back to green.

"I'm sorry I have to go." Calum shakes his head, before bolting right between where Ashton and I were standing.

A second later and Ashton's already taking a step to chase after him. I ready myself to do the same. As I take my first steps I half expect Michael to grab and pull us back that night in the rain at Emily's. But he doesn't.

"Calum! Wait!" Ashton calls.

Despite our calls, Calum barely turns to look at us as he shifts into a wolf and runs the fastest I'd ever seen him.

With Ashton by my side, we race forwards. I barely notice as I shift back, but I suddenly become aware that I'm a wolf again. Ashton too. Eventually, Calum becomes a speck and I lose sight of him as he makes a sharp left turn in front of us. Following the scent, Ashton and I turn when we reach there.

When we do, we come to a clearing. My stomach tightens when I realise that it was the same one where the wolf had attacked me on my first day here. I swallow my fear, as the memories of this place try to cling onto me.

We slow to a stop and I glance at Ashton. I sniff the air, but Calum's scent is gone. With no bond to follow either it was hopeless. I look around us, expecting Michael to be right behind us. He wasn't though.

I close my eyes, focusing on the bond. Only to find that he seemed to be right back where we just were. I frown at Ashton.

_'Mikey didn't follow?'_ I question.

He shakes his head, _'No, I don't even think he's moved from where we left him.'_

With a single nod, the two of us race back the way we came. As we'd suspected Michael was in the same spot as we'd left him. He was just sitting on the grass next to the picnic rug, his eyes wide and unblinking. It seemed he hadn't shifted back yet like we had.

I close my eyes and will myself to shift back. Yet, nothing seems to happen. It seems the moon's power must be too strong now. Beside me, Ashton let's out a whine. I had a feeling he'd tried the same thing as me.

' _We lost him...'_ Ashton tells Michael in a deflated tone.

"Damn," Michael sighs, "I know he's upset, but did he have to do all this?"

Ashton and I sighed. Things has ended up so much worse than any of us could’ve expected. Calum was gone.

Ashton moved to sit beside Michael, lying in a heap beside him. I did the same on Michael's other side. He rubbed both of us on the head.

Michael frowned, "Thanks for trying to find him guys."

We sit in silence for a few moments. Meanwhile I try to puzzle through the bond, as I try to cling on to any sign that Calum hasn't left us. Yet, I feel nothing from him.

_'So, does this mean Calum's left out pack and you're our Alpha now?'_ Ashton asks, the question that deep down I'd been avoiding.

"He can't have." Michael shakes his head, "I just can't be. I'm nothing like Cal, I wasn't even born one like he was. It's not possible, at least I didn't think that it was."

I frowned, yet all signs pointed towards it. I couldn't sense Calum anymore, and he'd even said it himself.

' _It seems like he transferred his Alpha status over to you or something. I mean he even said you were Alpha now.'_ I say.

Michael shakes his head, "It's not possible. I can't be."

_'Well I can't sense Calum anymore.'_ Ashton frowns, confirming my suspicions. Even when the bond was down we could still at least sense that the others were alive.

"I can vaguely, but it still feels like he's trying to shut me out." Michael frowns.

_'So, you can still sense him at least?'_ I ask. At least we knew he hadn't done something stupid. At least not yet.

Michael nods, "He's a total mess though. You guys can't sense him?"

Ashton and I both shook our heads.

"Maybe I am an Alpha now." Michael shook his head; his hands were trembling now. All Michael did was stare at them. I thought that perhaps he was about to shift back, "Which would also explain why I feel so messed up right now, and I don't think it's just the moon."

_'I know one way we can test it.'_  Ashton spoke quietly.

Michael raised an eyebrow at him, "How?"

' _Make me do something.'_ Ashton spoke in a fierce voice. He looked at me, ' _Not Luke, cause we all know he doesn't always have to listen to Alpha's.'_

Michael bit his lip, "Are you sure you want me to do that?"

Ashton nodded, 'It's the only way we're going to prove this. Besides you've watched Cal do it a thousand times. You must know what you're doing.'

Michael nodded, as his eyes searched around us. He let out a long sigh, as he stared Ashton down. My stomach turned, what was he going to make Ashton do? If it worked.

" _Go and get me one of the leftover slices of Pizza."_ Michael told him, in a commanding voice.

Ashton didn't move for a moment, and I wasn't sure if it had worked. Without warning he leapt from his spot beside Michael and raced over to the picnic blanket and picked up a slice of Pizza from one of the boxes with his teeth and trotted it right back over to Michael. Who took it from him.

"Ew, wolf slobber but thanks Ashton." Michael grinned, as he held the pizza upside down by the crust.

"That was better than what I expected you to make me do." Ashton sighed, as he sat back down on the other side of Michael, "But it proves it doesn't it. Only an Alpha could make me do that. Which right now seems to only be you."

Michael's eyes widen, and his face pales. Suddenly he leaps up and races over to the nearby trees. I hear an odd noise. Ashton and I exchange glances, before the two of us paw over to him.

_'Mikey, you okay?'_ I ask.

He nodded, as he turned around to face us, "Sorry, I freaked out. Besides this whole Alpha thing is totally throwing me off. I haven't been sick for years."

Ashton lets out a small whine.

Michael frowns at him, "Look I can't do this. Cal's good at this. I'm not. I mean you two are like my brothers, but I can't lead you guys. I can't make good decisions and I hate knowing I can make you do things Ash."

I glance over at Ashton who nods at me.

' _Well look if Calum is gone. For the time being you're going to need to be. Ash and I both know that you can do it. I think the three of us can work on it together somehow.'_ I say.

"Hopefully it won't be for long." Michael frowns, "As soon as we find him, he's Alpha again."

I nod, and so does Ashton. ' _For sure.'_

Ashton glares at me.

_'Not that you're going to be a bad Alpha or anything...'_  I quickly add.

"It's alright Luke, I know what you mean." Michael smiles back, "You're right. However, we still need to find him. If I'm Alpha that means Calum is technically a lone wolf, or an Omega. He won't be protected by our treaty. The hunters will kill him for sure." Michael frowned, his eyes widening at his own words.

The reality of all of this quickly sunk in, Calum was alone with no real protection anymore. If the hunters knew he was on his own, then it would be open season on him and maybe even all of us. We had to find him and fast.

Ashton frowned,  _'He still might be, as long as the hunters don't find out that he's left us. We need to make out to them that he'll only be away for a short time. We need to find him again before they do.'_

"We'll find him." Michael nods, "But, for tonight we just have to let him go. I think if we found him we'd just end up upsetting him more."

Ashton and I both nod. I knew Michael had a point. All I could think of was that night at Emily's and he hadn't run that far or given his position as Alpha away to anyone.

"Ugh, I give up. The moon's too strong." Michael frowns.

He pushes past us, before shifting into a wolf again. He looked at us, then up at the moon that was still at its peak _. 'Let's just get through tonight first.'_


	14. Homecoming

I winced as the bright beams of torch lights were shone into my eyes. With a slight wince I held my hand up in front of my eyes. My stomach flipped, we'd walked into the right place, hadn't we?

"Oi! Shut those off!" Ashton yells quickly.

"You can't trick us, we know you're sneaking back into the house late. Ash." A girl's voice spoke, as I heard the torch click off and the stairway light switch on.

A small male voice behind her spoke too. "And you brought a friend home with you too."

As my eyes adjusted to the light, they scanned over the two children standing at the bottom of a staircase and the end of the living room dressed in their Pyjamas. An older girl stood in front in red hello kitty pyjamas and a younger boy in batman pyjamas. I quickly processed that they were Ashton's siblings, Lauren and Harry.

"Hey, calm down guys. It's only Luke." Ashton smiled at them, "You two both know Luke. It's just his turn to live here for the week."

Nice save, though it was true. No point mentioning that I was still supposed to be at Calum's.

"You're not supposed to turn up at almost midnight though." The younger boy frowned.

"I'm going to tell mum." Lauren pokes her tongue out.

Ashton let out a frustrated sigh, "Mum knows Luke sometimes stays here. We didn't mean to come in so late, but plans changed okay?"

Lauren continues to scowl at the two of us, Harry nods slowly before he lets out a yawn.

"Yeah, it's only Luke. I'm going to bed now. Lauren are you coming?" He questions as he looks sleepily at his sister. She doesn't reply, she continues to glare at Ashton.

"Good." Ashton nodded, his gaze fell on Lauren, "Both of you should be."

"Aww, but we were waiting up for you." Lauren whined.

"Look sorry, I was home so late..." Ashton sighed, he glanced at me, unsure what to say to them. They both knew about the werewolf stuff, but we couldn't explain what had happened to Calum. "It was a full moon tonight." He simply told them.

Harry nodded, but his sister didn't she crossed her arms and scowled. "Didn't you say that was tomorrow night?"

Ashton looked worried, as he bit his lip.

"We just had the nights mixed up and thought it was. It was tonight though." I told them quickly. Ashton shot me a thankful look.

The two seemed to consider it for a moment, and I thought they were going to start carrying on again.

"Ash said to go to bed, let's go." Harry spoke again, tugging on his sister's shoulder. "We have school tomorrow."

With a loud sigh from Lauren and a hug from Ashton, the two of them climbed up the staircase and went up to their rooms.

Once they were gone, Ashton let out an exasperated sigh but smiled. Ashton looked after his siblings a lot, his mum worked long hours, but he didn't bring it up too often. I'd only realised it because I'd been staying here every few weeks. I knew it had been hard for him when we had left, and I guess this had been why. His siblings relied on him, even being a few hours late had distressed them. That much had been evident.

I followed Ashton out to the kitchen, without even asking he made us both a coffee and passed mine over to me. We slumped over the kitchen bench, the weight of everything that had happened collapsing onto my shoulders. I still couldn't believe it.

Once we'd been able to shift back, the three of us had headed to Calum's house. We'd been greeted at the door by Calum's mother, who had caught sight of our glum expressions immediately. Her eyes had searched for Calum. She must've thought he'd been killed. Michael did most of the talking as he explained to her what had happened.

That had been difficult. She'd cried for a little bit, Michael had spent at least five minutes just passing her tissues and giving her reassurance. However, she'd also agreed that we should keep it a secret for now that Michael was Alpha, and Calum had left the pack. At least until we'd worked out what had happened.

We'd checked his room too, but not a single thing had been touched. There was no sign of him whatsoever and he probably didn't have much money, car keys, spare clothes or food on him either. We were all worried, where was he going to go now?

"So, I guess Michael's Alpha now, huh?" Ashton sighed as he stirred his coffee in the mug. I stare at him for a moment I hadn't expected to bring it up again so soon. We'd talked so much about it tonight, that it still didn't even feel real.

"Yeah." I nod, "Hard to believe isn't it?"

Ashton nods, "I mean I'm glad it wasn't me that Calum chose, but I can't stop myself from thinking that it still should be him."

"I know, I'm glad it wasn't me either. Michael will do a good job though, I think." I frowned, my thoughts quickly turning to him, "I wonder how he's doing right now. This is the first time he's been alone since it happened."

Before we'd left Calum's place he'd tried to put on a brave face to us. He'd assured us that he was perfectly fine with being Alpha and we didn't need to be worried about him. However, I knew how he'd been talking and his reaction when we first worked it out, and I wasn't certain if Michael believed in himself enough right now to handle the pressure that came with it. The bond had been empty, as if he'd been blocking Ashton and I out the same way Calum usually did. That didn't make things any easier, in fact it concerned me more.

Ashton sighs, "I should've invited him over here too I guess."

"Yeah." I agree, "I'm worried about him."

"Me too." Ashton replied with a solemn expression.

We sit in silence for a while, the two of us just focusing on drinking our coffee. Then I hear a loud bang and what sounds like a rustling of leaves. Our heads both shoot up at the same time. I think for a moment, perhaps it's just a possum. Ashton shrugs and resumes drinking his coffee, uncertain I do the same. Then I hear a thunder of footsteps coming down the stair case. Harry is standing at the door to the kitchen. He holds a small brown teddy bear tightly to his chest, he looked pale and frightened.

"Ash, I think there's something outside." The younger boy frowns in a high-pitched tone. I frowned, whatever he'd seen he was afraid enough to come and tell us.

Ashton frowns at him, and ushers the boy to come closer, "What did it look like?"

"Whatever it was, it had yellow glowing eyes. It's like it was watching me." Harry speaks quickly, with a deathly serious expression. "It was creepy."

Ashton and I exchanged worried glances. My stomach clenched. There were only a few things that we knew had glowing yellow eyes.

"Another werewolf?" I questioned.

Ashton nodded, "Sounds like it."

I hear footsteps, and Lauren appears at the doorway too. She must have heard it too, or at least us down here.

"I think something's outside." She frowns. "It was hard to make out though."

Worry struck in my stomach. Both Lauren and Harry had to have seen the same thing. It was still close. If it was a werewolf then what was its purpose?

Harry and Lauren were both looking at us expectantly as we were the 'adults' of the house tonight. I looked to Ashton, knowing that whatever this thing was and what we decided to do about it; we needed to ensure that his siblings were safe.

Ashton sighs, as he realises we're all looking at him for what to do.

"Alright, both of you go upstairs, make sure your windows are locked and stay in your rooms until we tell you to come back down." Ashton instructs them. "You can both do that I'm sure. If something happens though, stay out of sight okay."

Both nodded with fearful expressions. A few seconds later they ran out the kitchen and I heard the thundering of footsteps as they both raced up the staircase.

I felt slightly guilty, I hope we hadn't frightened them too much, but all four of us could be in a lot of danger.

"What now?" I frowned as I turned back to Ashton.

"Maybe we should go outside and look?" He suggested.

And go out there with it? I wasn't sure I liked that idea much either. Shouldn't we stay in the house and make sure Lauren and Harry were okay? Then again if someone was here it would probably be best to keep it outside the house.

Somehow, I found myself agreeing with Ashton's idea. I followed him to the back door, which was directly below where Harry's bedroom was. As we took our first steps outside we stuck together like glue.

Our eyes searched the backyard. The trees were silent, the grass devoid of life. Two bikes; one blue and the other red lay abandoned near the gate. I looked above at the stars and the moon. I sniffed the air, and I couldn't catch the scent of anything other than the grass and trees that I could see.

No one was here. Well at least they had made it seem that way. We walked forward out into the middle of the garden, and looked up on the roof. No one was up there and there weren't any signs of broken tiles or any kind of damage.

"Bonds down, I think." Ashton groaned, "But you don't think it was Calum checking on us?"

"Wishful thinking." I frowned. "I don't think he'd come back here."

I didn't think we'd be seeing Calum for a little while. The way he'd handed over the reins to Michael made me think he intended to be gone for a little while if not forever. Besides, surely Harry or Lauren would've recognised him if it had been.

"Don't you think he would've used the front door?" I said.

Ashton nods, "Exactly what's worrying me."

There was a slight rustle and then I heard a continued thumping noise. We exchange glances, we weren't alone out here. I sniffed the air again, noticing the scent of at least another werewolf out here besides us.

"I think someone's trying to break in." I frown at Ashton in alarm. He nodsback with a haunted expression.

I looked in the direction noticing that behind one of the trees there was a black shape bashing on the kitchen window. I could see our coffee mugs still sitting on the bench inside and frowned.

We walked over to the tree, and stayed behind it for a moment. I sucked in a deep breath and Ashton pointed towards where the shape was. I nodded quickly.

Ashton went one way and I took the other. I grabbed one arm of their red hoodie and Ashton the other, the person screamed and thrashed as we pulled them back onto the bark of the tree.

"Geez, is that anyway to greet you're new Alpha?" A voice laughed.

I looked up, finally looking into the green eyes of our intruder. I gasped, suddenly realising we'd made a massive mistake.

"Michael?" We both questioned in surprise.

Michael laughed, as we released him from our grip. Ashton and I both wore bewildered expressions. I can't believe we hadn't worked that out. Perhaps if the bond wasn't down we might've had a chance.

"Sorry if I scared you guys." He smiled, "You know you both did a great job of sneaking up, I didn't notice you were there until I felt you grab on my hoodie."

This didn't seem to matter much to Ashton though, he scowled, "You couldn't have just used the front door, Mikey?" Ashton raised an eyebrow, "We were terrified."

Michael shrugged, "The door was locked, bonds down, so I was trying to get your attention through the window because the light was on. Figured you must've been putting the kids to bed or something."

"You gave us all a fright though. Harry came running down the stairs and described to me this thing watching him from the trees outside his windows with glowing golden eyes."

Michael looked confused, "Harry's room's up on the second floor right, I haven't been anywhere near there. After the door, this is the first place I've tried."

That hadn't been Michael then? I looked at Ashton, a bad feeling rising in my chest.

"Someone else must've been here." Ashton frowned. "You haven't seen anyone else?"

Michael was beginning to look concerned, his eyes searched around us. "No, only you two."

I looked over at Ashton. The creature with yellow eyes wasn't Michael. I looked around, there was no sign of it so hopefully it was long gone.

We decided to head inside after that, it was late and there was no point lingering out here if there was nothing to find.

"I didn't think you were coming over, Mikey?" I questioned as we began to walk towards the house.

He shrugged, "Well I knew you were both here and- "

"You were getting freaked out on your own?" Ashton prompted.

Michael blushed, barely meeting our gaze, "Exactly."

"That's okay. It was stupid you going off on your own tonight anyway." Ashton sighed. "I can make enough room for the three of us, you can stay here tonight. If you want."

Michael nodded with a grateful expression, "Thanks Ash."

We hadn't made it far when, Ashton called up to his brother and sister that it was safe to come out now. The two of them came bounding down the stairs. Harry's eyes immediately locked on Michael, his face lighting up.

"Mikey!" Harry yelled, quickly racing down the stairs. On his landing, Michael gave him a high five. I felt a little odd considering the way I'd been greeted with so much indifference. Lauren trailed behind her younger brother with a concerned look.

"All of that was only Michael?" Lauren questioned with a raised eyebrow as she came to stop in front of us.

"Yeah," I lied, "The door was locked so he tried to come in another way."

"Oh, I see." She nodded. "Well in that case I'm off to bed now. Good night."

Lauren went back upstairs, but this time Harry remained. He'd pulled away from Michael now and was staring at the three of us.

"What I saw though, that wasn't Michael." He frowned, his gaze resting on me.

Michael shot us concerned looks, he waved his hand, "Sorry if I scared you Harry. I thought you might have let me in."

"You're lying." He frowned in a demanding tone, his eyebrows furrowed. "I know it wasn't you."

The three of us let out a groan. Like Lauren earlier, he wasn't going to let this drop until we at least told him an ounce of the truth.

"We don't honestly know who it was." Ashton explained. "We're going to be up for a little bit longer we'll make sure it's safe. You should probably go back to bed now too."

Harry raised an eyebrow but nodded and went back upstairs without another word.

With the kids back upstairs, we returned to the kitchen.

"Alright so we know it wasn't me, so what the heck was it?" Michael asked, once we were all seated.

"All we know is both saw them, and they had glowing golden eyes. It had to be a werewolf." I frowned.

"We did think it might be Calum, but obviously that's a bit of a stretch considering the circumstances." Ashton added, "Besides Calum wouldn't scare Harry like that."

"Yeah." Michael frowned, "Who would hang around you're house like that though?"

"Someone seriously crazy." I sighed.

The three of us were silent. I wondered just who could it have been. My only thought was the shadow wolf but considering its eyes glowed with red rather than gold I doubted it.

"Hey, Ash what's that on your window?" Michael frowned, his arm pointed to something behind us.

When we turned to investigate I noticed that the glass had been fogged up in one section and someone had drawn the symbol that I now recognised instantly; it had a triangle like shape on the bottom, from that a triangular shape with a line through the middle that leads to a line with a filled in circle. The final flair was the plant like design jutting out from it.

In writing above it were the words, 'I'll be back.'

Ashton grew pale, his hands shaking slightly. I let out a gasp, the shock stemming through my entire body. I was so confused, had the Shadow Wolf really been here? Had it come to hurt Ashton or me? Or worse yet one of the kids?

"We'll make sure it doesn't hurt them." Michael frowned, holding Ashton's hands as they trembled. He looked as though he was a moment away from tears. We hadn't thought it could come here.

"What if it does." Ashton spoke quietly. "It'll all be my fault."

"I don't think it's going to do anything tonight." I spoke, still uncertain in those words.

Michael nodded in agreement, "It's just trying to scare us. How about we just sleep upstairs tonight in your room. That'll make you feel better right? We'll protect them."

Reluctantly, Ashton agreed. Though neither Michael or I were sure there was any truth in our words. The Shadow Wolf could be up to anything, or anyone.

 


	15. Tell Me How

_'Didn't we already go this way?'_ I questioned, as I slowed to a stop. My eyes had just fallen on a boulder I'm sure we'd passed at least three times today. I sniffed the scent, it smelt like we'd just been here too.  
  
_'Yeah, besides can we go get some lunch already. I'm starving?'_ Ashton asks, as he slows to a stop beside me. A few moments later I hear the distinct sound of a tummy grumble. Ashton lowers his head slightly.  
  
The wolf in front of us slows and tilts his head back at us, as he gives us a look that seems to be the wolf equivalent of ' _you've got to be kidding me.'  
_  
_'Guys, focus.'_ Michael snaps a few seconds later.  
  
_'Come on. We've been out here for at least four hours Mikey.'_ I groan, ' _I feel like we're no closer to finding him than we were last night. We haven't even made it out of the town.'  
_  
Ashton nods, ' _I know you're running on a trickle of a bond, but just admit it Mikey we're not getting anywhere.'  
_  
_'Okay. Okay.'_ Michael groans, _'I'm trying. Neither of you realise how hard this is. Every time I think I've got a hold of his general direction it slides away from me like quicksand. It's like he knows we're trying to find him.'_  
  
I instantly feel a trickle of guilt wash over me. Right now, Michael was the only chance of working out where Calum had run off to. It was frustrating enough not being able to sense him at all, I couldn't imagine what it must be like to sense him and then not.  
  
_'We know, Mikey. We want to find him too.'_ Ashton nods. His stomach rumbles again. _'But right now, some of us really need to eat...'_  
  
I'd been so focused on keeping up with them that I hadn't thought about how hungry I was. My stomach grumbles slightly at the thought. I nod in agreement.  
  
Michael lets out a frustrated sigh but nods, _'Fine, let's go get hamburgers or something. Then it's straight back out here. Okay?'_  
  
_'Okay.'_  
  
We turn around in the other direction and head back towards town. As we run back, my thoughts quickly turn to food. I had no idea how hungry I was. I guess we left Ashton's place so early this morning that I hadn't eaten much.  
  
Once we get closer, the three of us shift back and walk the rest of the way to the nearest Hamburger shop on the edge of town. It was retro themed with checkerboard flooring and an old jukebox on one side of the room. It had modern music thankfully. It was usually rather crowded and sometimes on weekends a hard place to get a spot.  
  
It was quiet today. I guess because most people who came here were at work or school. Where we usually were.

I looked along the walls of numerous photos of people with large stacked hamburgers, and beside them a picture of the same person or people with an empty plate. They have one of those competitions to see who can eat their largest hamburger, the walls are lined with dozens of people who have conquered it. Michael usually jokes that one of us should have a go one day, Calum will usually laugh and remind him that we'll do it one day.  
  
Will that day ever come now?  
  
I take a deep breath, I was missing him already. Last night had made everything worse. Being in that situation at Ashton's house had terrified me. There hadn't been any sign of a werewolf or shadow wolf coming back since, but that didn't mean that they eventually wouldn't. Just to be sure, the three of us had walked Lauren and Harry to school and would be going to pick them up when they finished in the afternoon. Lauren had rolled her eyes at the idea, but Harry had nodded and stayed close to us right to the gate. It had been obvious that whatever he’d seen in his window had spooked him.  
  
Michael orders, and we take our usual spot in a booth with a view of the kitchen door. As we sit, I can't help but notice the empty space. If it bothers Michael or Ashton they don't say anything. I guess it had been the three of them before I came along so they might not even notice.  
  
Something catches my eye over at one of the other table, and I freeze. Michael gives me a puzzled expression and I quickly duck my head pretending to read the menu although we've already ordered.  
  
It takes me a moment to calm my thoughts, before I dare look over there again. Hopefully she won’t see us.  
  
"Maybe we should pick somewhere else to eat." I frowned.  
  
"Why? We already ordered" Michael questioned, then his gaze followed mine, "Oh, right...."  
  
Georgia is sitting at a table on the other side of the room. I can barely look over, knowing that she knows about us now. I guess she wasn't in school either, as she's dressed in a black dress with a pink flowered hem not her uniform. In front of her is a large chocolate milkshake and a barely eaten burger as she flips through a book.  
  
"We can just stay here. If she wants to talk to us she will." Ashton nods, realising who we're talking about.  
  
Michael and I exchanged glances.  
  
"What's the worst she can say?" Ashton shrugged, "I mean clearly she hasn't told anyone. The worst she could've told is Kaylee and considering she already knows that's not a problem."  
  
"True." Michael and I frown.  
  
I suddenly hear a clamour of plates, and turn to look up. I notice them that Georgia is staring right over at us, a fearful look in her eyes. One of the staff quickly races over making sure she's alright. She nods, quickly waving the woman away as she collects her plate of fries from the floor. She was lucky they'd landed right way up, so only a few were lost to the floor.

 "We better move I think." Michael frowns, already picking up our number to take it outside. I guess, we'll just wait until it's ready and eat it out in the forest then.  
  
Ashton and I nod, following him as he leaves the table.  
  
"Boys, wait." I hear a voice call after us.  
  
My shoulders jerk up, startled by the noise. Michael turns around to look, and so does Ashton.  
  
Georgia is standing behind us, she fiddles anxiously as she looks up at us with nervous eyes. It's obvious she's afraid. Yet, all I can find myself able to do is stare. I have no idea what any of us could possibly say to her. Nothing could change what happened last night. Calum was long gone.  
  
"Can we uh...talk?" She questions.  
  
The three of us exchange glances, and Michael nods gesturing to the table. Part of me thinks this is crazy, but this also might be the right thing to do.  
  
As we sit around the table where we had been before, Georgia races back to her table and brings over the remainder of her Chocolate milkshake and fries, offering a few of them to us as she takes Calum's usual spot at the table.  
  
"I take it Calum didn't go to school today either." She frowned. "How's he doing?"  
  
I guess she wouldn't've known what had happened. She'd run off before Calum had. She probably just assumed he was holed up in his room or something of the like. The three of us exchanged glances, we had to tell her.  
  
"Uh, the thing is we don't actually know where he is." Michael speaks.  
  
She raised her eyebrows, almost choking on her drink, "Wait he's gone?"  
  
The three of us nodded slowly.  
  
Her face fell, "Oh no. I didn't know it would upset him so much."  
  
Michael frowned at her, crossing his arms, "Well it did. When you ran off like that, it didn't exactly help the situation."  
  
"Michael." Ashton glared at him.  
  
"What we mean to say is Calum hasn't had the best experiences with relationships lately." I quickly added. "So, his hopes were pinned on you a little more than usual."  
  
"Did something happen?" She questioned with wide eyes.  
  
"Yes," Michael replied before I could, he glared at me from across the table, "And we're not going to tell her about that."  
  
There's an awkward silence, Georgia's looking over the three of us carefully. Something in her expression tells me she wants to know why still but she doesn't push us for it. I guess Michael's right we can't tell her the real reason Calum had been so upset. She doesn't need to hear about Sophie.  
  
"Well if you do see him, can you tell him that it wasn't anything against him. You see I seem to have a habit of falling in love with werewolves." She explained, lowering her voice.  
  
The three of us stared at her for a moment. Did she just say something about falling in love with werewolves? We exchanged glances. I could never have guessed that she knew what a werewolf was let alone falling in love with one other than Calum.  
Her cheeks were bright red, "Yeah, I know. I lied to you guys. I knew about your kind before. Because of what happened, I swore to myself that I'd never meet or fall in love with one again, but I guess that I was wrong to think that." She continued.  
  
"But why?" Michael questioned his eyes filled with concern.  
  
Georgia took a deep breath, and she tapped her fingers for a moment. Perhaps Michael had gone a little far asking her about that. Especially when we wouldn't answer a similar question about Calum.  
  
"When I first met Riley about a year ago, he was kind and he loved the outdoors. He had a couple of mates who he always hung out with, but I never questioned it. I was in too deep, I really liked him. Then one night I found out the truth. I ended up stumbling in on him when he shifted, he'd been a bitten a few months before we met." She begun, with wistful eyes. "He taught me to see him not as a monster and I continued to allow myself to stay in love with him despite his condition. Now I realise I was stupid for believing him." Georgia said.  
  
"How so?" Michael asked as he promoted her.  
  
Georgia sighed, "Before I left, he became abusive. Whenever he saw me even looking at other guys he'd get cross, sometimes he would even tremble like he was going to shift. For a while that was all it was, so I thought nothing of it. That was until one day I had a tutoring session with one of the senior boys at our school and he just snapped." She spoke her eyes slightly downcast.  
  
She pulled back the right sleeve of her dress revealing thin lines of scars across them. She lifted her hair up where thick lines of scars covered across her ears and neck. I realised with horror that they were from claw marks. One glance at both Michael and Ashton told me that they were as equally horrified.

I'd never noticed the scars before, but it seemed Georgia went to great lengths to hide them.

"I'm lucky I didn't lose hearing in this ear or that I turned my head in time that he didn't get my eyes. I spent a few days in hospital while they checked to make sure I wouldn't need an operation." She frowned tucking her hair back over the scars. "This was the final straw and the reason my parents knew we had to move away. After what happened, my parents and I came to the agreement that we needed to leave. I promised myself and them I'd never get into a relationship like that again."  
  
"I'm so sorry." Michael frowned. Ashton and I both nodded.  
  
She shook her head, "Don't be. I was ready to make a fresh start. I thought that perhaps maybe I'd never fall in love again and then that day I met Calum. We talked in class and he was so nice. Kaylee encouraged me too, even when I told her my last boyfriend had abused me." She sighed, "Then I saw that wolf standing there, and it brought everything I was trying to forget about back to the surface. I could only see Riley in the wolf, not Calum."  
  
I took a deep breath, that had been so much more than I expected, I'm surprised between her and Calum that we'd even got them to go out together in the first place. They'd both had to deal with more than they should've.  
  
"I'd been telling myself for weeks that Calum wasn't going to be another Riley...."  
  
"And then he was one too huh?" Ashton gave her a sympathetic smile.  
  
"Yeah." She nods.  
  
"Well I'm not about to tell you how amazing Calum is, but Luke meant what he said about Calum. It might not have seemed like it, but it was hard on him too. His last relationship didn't end so well." Michael spoke.  
  
I glanced over at him, was he intending that we tell her about Sophie?  
  
A moment later and Michael had launched into the entire story about Sophie. Even as our food arrived, he continued. Georgia barely moved the entire conversation.

"If only I'd known." She sighed, when Michael was finished, "I probably would've let him down easier."  
  
"I think if he'd known about Riley, he would've told you sooner as well." Michael nodded.  
  
Georgia took a deep breath, "Look no matter if Calum comes back or not, things are still over between us. I can't do the whole being in love with a werewolf thing again. Thanks for hearing me out guys, I really hope he comes back or you find him soon."  
  
We all nodded.  
  
"It's alright, we understand." Michael told her.  
  
With that she left us to the rest of our meal. We finished it in silence, none of us speaking verbally or through the bond. It was as if all three of us needed a moment to digest her words.

"Do you think it was bad that I told her about Sophie?" Michael questioned nervously when we were all done and had begun to walk out.  
  
I shook my head quickly, in the end it needed to have been done.  
  
"She told us about Riley." Ashton spoke, "It was only fair we told her why Calum took this so harshly."  
  
'Poor thing though. Makes me want to find that jerk and send the hunters onto him for her." Michael grumbled, "No one deserves to be treated like that."  
  
We nod in agreement. I wouldn't have minded informing the hunters about someone like that. There was no way that you could use being a werewolf as an excuse for attacking a girl just for talking to other males. It occurred to me how badly someone could misuse all this to manipulate someone like that. I couldn't shake the image of Georgia's scars either, how could you keep smiling after someone did that to you just because you had accepted help from another guy?  
  
"Well at least we know she won't tell anyone." I add glancing over at the others.  
  
"Yeah, at least you're right about that. Her telling someone was the thing that was worrying me the most." Michael frowns. "It's bad enough the hunters know about us. Let alone a whole group of people."  
  
"Well you know, between Kaylee, Alex, Lewis, Georgia and all your families quite a few people know about us these days." I added.  
  
Michael sighed, "That's true. We're starting to get a lot more people involved than need to be."  
  
"It also means we have a lot of allies though too." Ashton smiled.  
  
"Well I wish one of those allies could tell me where the heck Calum went because I'm tired of looking for him." Michael huffed.  
  
"I just wish that someone had heard from him." Ashton agrees.  
  
"Yeah, Mikey have you spoken with anyone?" I question.  
  
"Well I talked to Jayden and Emily this morning and neither of them had." Michael says with a frown. "So, I don't think he's headed anywhere near them. Or if he has he's done a pretty good job dodging them."  
  
"I see." I sigh, "Well I guess we better just keep searching then."  
  
Michael nods, "Yeah, we better.” He looks at his phone, “plus, we’ll have to be back to pick up the kids soon."  
  
"You sound like a mother." Ashton teased. “Oh my, I need to pick up the kids,”

"Well they are your siblings, Ash." Michael crossed his arms, "Someone has to remember them, if you don't."

Ashton grinned, “Oi! I haven't forgotten them, but if you aren't being their mother than at least you are basically their honorary big brother.”

“Alright fine.” Michael smiled, “but what about Luke?”

“Well, he’s an honorary big brother too.” Ashton replied.

“Wow, I’ve never been a big brother before.” I grinned, “I'm always the little one.”

“Well technically you still are, you’re the baby of the pack still.” Michael teased with a small nudge.

“Hey, I'm not the baby anymore.” I rolled my eyes, “I'm much more experienced now. Shouldn't it technically be Lewis.”

"Ah, but he's not officially in the pack. Cal’s just looking after him.” Michael challenged.

“Well-” I start to speak.

“Come on, both of you. We better get moving. We still have one more brother to find.” Ashton speaks, his eyes glowing with golden.

Michael and I exchange glances and nod. I look around us and realise that we’ve come to the edge of the forest once more, and the three of us unanimously let out a sigh. Lunch hadn't exactly been a break, but we were ready to recommence our search for Calum. I take a deep breath and I shift again. Hoping once again that this time we might find him.

 


	16. Search

The three of us waited outside of Lauren and Harry’s school a week later. We were still going there to collect them, even though we’d stated going back to school again. Although we'd given up searching for Calum during the day, we'd started going out in the afternoons after we walked the kids home. We'd spent the past weekend visiting nearby towns looking for any sign of Calum, in the hope that it might help Michael sense Calum better. Yet we had found nothing, and Michael had only sensed him for one moment the entire trip. By now, he could be miles away or in another state. We were all getting a little nervous.

Since that first night, the Shadow Wolf hadn't shown up again but the three of us had been stuck together like glue. We'd been moving between Ashton and Michael's place, but a few days ago we'd started hanging around the den as we were coming back so late from looking for Calum. I was always with one of them, so usually the other ended up coming over.

It was also tough adjusting to Michael being Alpha. I think it was difficult for him as well. He'd accidentally forced his will onto us more times than I could count. Generally, it was when one of us wanted to stop searching or do something he wasn't happy with. It made me glad that I could bypass it, but Ashton wasn't so lucky. So, I made sure I had a go at him for anything that he tried to make us do that was unfair.

"What do you mean you don't know where she is!?" Ashton frowned down at his brother, it had been a while since school had finished and so far, he'd been the only one to show up. I looked around, where was Lauren?

Harry shrugged, "I don't know, it's not like I have a tracker on her."

Ashton frowned, his eyes darting around the last trickle of students leaving, some joining the lines to catch buses. Yet Lauren was nowhere to be seen. I could even see one of the teachers closing the gate. I glanced over at Michael who bit his lip and tapped his foot impatiently. He caught me staring and shrugged.

Ashton's eyes suddenly lit up as they fell on one girl, with auburn curly haired and glasses. Without a single word, he marched over to her and questioned. "Alyssa, have you seen my sister?"

The girl frowned at Ashton, and shrugged, "Not since lunch, she wasn't in class either."

Ashton frowned, "That's okay. Thanks."

Ashton re-joined the three of us with a frustrated expression. "She better answer her phone, I swear."

He dialled up the number, I could hear the robotic woman's voice explain that the person he was trying to call could not be reached. He rang a different number, but the phone just rang out. He growled at his phone as he started typing away angrily at the screen.

 _'You don't think something's happened to her?'_ I thought to Michael.

 _'I'm not sure. Though there seems to be a slight scent here, like a werewolf.'_ He frowned as he replied, _'Look maybe don't say that to Ash just yet.'_

I nodded, he was already on edge enough this past week. It had been obvious that he was nervous about something happening to one of his siblings because of the other night. Sure, Michael and I were concerned too, but I'd feared if something did happen how Ashton would react. I sighed, as I looked around us. I wasn't sure what was happening or where Lauren had gone off too but, it was clear from Ashton's expression that one of his worst fears was coming to life.

We waited for another few minutes, Ashton spoke to one of her teachers. All she could tell him was that Lauren hadn't been in her class that afternoon as she'd been with one of the other teachers. She hadn't left early either, so we would've had to see her go out the gate. Ashton quickly mumbled something about having a call, and he made out like she'd rung him. Though I couldn't hear a voice on the other line. I frowned at Michael.

Ashton walked back over to us, he sighed, "No one seems to know where she is. So, it looks like we're going looking for her then."

"Where do we start?" Michael frowned.

I nodded, in agreement turning to Ashton and Harry. We were having enough trouble finding Calum with a flickering bond. Let alone Ashton's sister.

"Maybe one of her friends' places, or that newsagents down the street that has those really good lollies. Lauren and I stop there all the time." Harry suggested.

Ashton frowned when Harry mentioned the lollies, but he didn't say anything.

"Ah! Yeah! Cal and I used to go their all the time as kids." Michael agreed. "All the older kids from this school always go there."

"Yeah, well since I already talked to Alyssa. That might be the best place to start." Ashton agreed.

Harry and Michael lead the way as we headed towards, a newsagent on the corner of a row of shops. There were dozens of older students with their friends and younger siblings and a few with parents walking out with soft drinks and other items. We sent Harry into check, but she hadn't been in there.

I frowned. So, she'd been at school at lunchtime because her friend had said she'd seen her. I was suspicious though; the teacher had said that she went off with one of the other teachers but hadn't elaborated on what. That could explain everything.

Ashton frowned, "She might have just walked home on her own. So, I think perhaps it might be best for us to head there and work out what out next plan is."

Harry lead the way as we walked along the usual route that they took home. I scanned around us looking for any sign of her presence. I couldn't pick up a scent as so many people had walked along here recently that they all blended together.

We were starting to walk past a nearby park, when I heard the scream.

Alert, the four of us looked around for the source.

"Lauren." Ashton spoke quickly, suddenly taking off towards the gap in the hedge and into the park. He must've picked up her scent when he heard the noise.

With a single glance; Harry, Michael and I quickly followed him into the park. Harry struggled to keep with us as Ashton turned a corner in front of us.

Luckily Michael and I were fast, and as we caught up with him. I saw Ashton grew rigid, slowing to a stop as he assessed the situation. I stopped beside him.

I followed Ashton's gaze to where Lauren was standing near the fountain backing onto it, as she stared at the large golden furred wolf that was staring right at her. Its teeth locked into an angry growl as it snarled at her. My breath caught for a moment.

Beside me Ashton narrowed his eyebrows, his irises quickly sparking to golden. He was about to shift.

Before he could shift, there was a blur of motion. A shape commando rolled out of the bushes before leaping into the air wrestling the wolf, pulling it to the ground. They paused for only a moment as they held their bow and arrow up at the wolf.

I could see her properly now, she had her long black hair tied up into a high ponytail. She was dressed in tight jeans and a black tank top. Thin lines of scars lined her entire body. I noticed a quiver of arrows strapped to her back She glared at the creature with ferocity in her piercing hazel eyes. I stepped back in shock. Who was she?

The wolf growled at her, before launching in the air. She ducked as the wolf leaped over her, before it spun around to face her, snarling.

"Oh my gosh, it's Mei." Michael gasped.

"Who?" I raised an eyebrow, as I glanced over at him.

"Mei, uh, she was an old friend from the hunters." Michael added.

Ashton and I stared at Michael.

"What? You guys think I didn't have any friends while I was a hunter?" Michael raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah." I frowned, "It's just I thought none of them were our friends."

Michael didn't respond to that; his eyes were back on Mei.

The wolf launched at her again, and this time Mei kicked it off easily, sending it flying across the park with a loud whine. I noticed Lauren was still watching, her body against the fountain pale and shaking. I looked at Ashton surprised that the golden had faded from his eyes and that he was still standing here with us. Like the rest of us, he'd obviously decided to leave this to Mei.

She yelled something at it. I heard a small whimper from the wolf. I lowered its head, turned and ran before disappearing into the bushes. Mei grinned before she turned to Lauren.

"You okay, sweetie?" I heard her question.

Lauren nodded, "Thanks. But who are you?"

I noticed Ashton had left our side, Harry following him. I jabbed Michael in the side, and he nodded the two of us following them.

"Looks like big brothers here...." Mei spoke in a slightly icy tone, changing the question as she gestured towards Ashton.

Lauren looked confused for a moment as she followed Mei's gaze. "Ash?" She questioned.

Ashton raced forward suddenly pulling her into a hug, "Lauren! Thank goodness, you're okay. Don't ever do that to me again!"

"I'm sorry it was-" Lauren started, she suddenly grew quiet at Ashton's cross expression.

"Seriously though, what were you thinking walking home by yourself without telling any of us?" Ashton frowned at her as they pulled away.

She shrugged, "I thought I told you I was walking home myself today. I guess not."

"What about Harry?" Ashton frowned, "You know why we've been walking both of you to and from school."

She shrugged, "I figured he was waiting for you guys, besides it had been over a week, so I figured nothing was going to attack me if I walked home on my own..." She sighed, "I guess I was wrong,"

"Look fine, but what were you doing in the park then. This spot isn't on your way home." Ashton sighed.

Lauren suddenly looked incredibly nervous as she barely met Ashton's gaze.

I noticed a note in her hand written on pink paper.

"What's that?" I asked her.

Lauren's cheeks flushed bright pink as she hid the note away from view. "Nothing."

Ashton looked back at me in confusion, I'd tell him about it later. I had a feeling that pink piece of paper was the reason she'd come in here. Ashton sighed but nodded at me.

"I'm just glad you're okay." Was all Ashton said, turning back to face Michael and me.

That was when I realised that Mei was still standing there, but her eyes were on Michael. "Wow, it really is you."

"Nice to see you again Mei. Thanks for helping Ash's sister." Michael smiled warmly at her, showing no sign of shock at her recognising him. It seemed evidence enough that they had once been friends.

I expected Mei to reply with something vicious but instead she grinned, "No problem. So you really did fall to the Wolves huh, Mikey?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that..." Michael spoke, "How have you been?"

"Good, the hunters finally certified me last month." She grinned, "So I'm allowed to go around on my own." She tapped on her bow proudly. The gesture made me shiver slightly, if it wasn't for Michael knowing her. I'd probably have made sure I was miles away from her. I knew that a few hunters had stayed around or come here, to make sure that other wolves weren't causing problems. Besides, one of their key bases was in this very town.

"Well we probably have some catching up to do." Michael smiled at Mei.

Mei grinned, "Yeah, we do."

*********

Much to Ashton and I's surprise, Michael invited Mei back to the den. We set up a small fire out the front of it and brought out a few of the beanbags from inside.

"You know thanks a lot Mei." Ashton spoke. "I can't believe she went chasing after a love letter. I'm glad you were there to stop the wolf from hurting her."

I'd since told Ashton about the pink note that he's sister had been holding, we later found it left on the floor just before we'd left. It had lots of love hearts and suggested that they meet at the park after school. There'd been no scent on it though. I wonder if that wolf had been the one that left it and if so, who they were.

"I'm concerned though," Michael frowned, "Someone must've planted that letter, so that the wolf would attack her. They must've known she was related to you Ash."

I could only sit in silence as I tried to work this out from Michael's words. Someone was playing on our insecurities, knowing how Ashton would react if anything happened to one of his siblings. How many other times had it been around that we didn't know about. I squirmed at the thought.

Ashton had grown slightly pale.

Mei frowned as she pushed back a strand of hair. "Maybe I might need to talk to the hunters about this, we can't have someone doing this to kids."

Ashton smiled at her, "Thank you, that would be great,"

"Someone might need to keep an eye on your siblings as well. To make sure this doesn't happen again until we're certain that the wolf is gone. I've been tracking it since it's arrived here, but that's the first time I've seen it attack like that." Mei said.

Michael's eyes lit up, "Does that mean you saw them leave the note or give the note to Lauren?"

Mei shook her head, "I haven't managed to see the wolf in human form yet. It's only been here a few days."

Michael and Ashton both look deflated at that. I was even starting to wonder if this could be a clue to our shadow wolf.

"Ash, can you come and help me for a moment. I need a hand." Michael spoke suddenly.

Ashton looked startled, I was confused too. They were going to leave me all alone with Mei? Sure, I thought she was okay, but at the end of the day she was still a hunter.

With a shrug, Ashton followed Michael back towards the den. Leaving just Mei and I outside.

I stared at the fire, as little flecks of ash rose from it before burning out. I sighed, I guess without Michael around Mei wasn't much of a talker.

A second later I felt a sharp pain in my chest, confused I let out a gasp. I look down noticing Mei is standing in front of me now, holding one of her arrows to my chest. I could see the slight stain of blood where it went through my t-shirt. It hadn’t gone in far, merely having scrapped the skin.

"You know if it wasn't for the treaty, I could drive this straight into your chest." She mumbled, as she held it in her hand. "You would've been dead by now."

"I didn't think you could hunt here." I growled at her, meeting her eyes.

"Oh, I can't, but doesn't mean I can't hurt you." She shrugged, "I know what you did to Mikayla. Most of the other hunters have chosen to forget that but I haven't."

I frowned. She was talking about that incident in the store when we'd been on the run. The thought of it brought back a wave of bad memories. It was the only time since my first shift where I'd lost it. I swallowed.

"You're a real monster. I can't believe your pack hasn't realised it yet." She frowned.

I gestured around us, "Look around us hunter girl. If you're here to mock me, then I can quite easily call the others straight back out here. In fact, I'm sure they'll be back out in a second."

"Do you really think Michael will believe you?" She smiled, "Or Ashton, I just saved his sister after all."

I stared at her. She was probably right. I saw the way Michael grinned at her as if she'd been any of us. They were friends still, like the way Finn and I had been before he tried to kill Calum. Ashton seemed to like her too after he'd rescued her sister like that. She'd even had me fooled, yet now that she was acting like this I wasn't too sure of anything anymore.

"Well, Mei-" I started.

"Don't play sweet werewolf with me now Luke. I know what you're really like." She twisted the arrow. I squeaked.

I could only stare at her. Sure, perhaps I could shift, but with the fire so close to us there was more chance I could get hurt from either the fire itself or the arrow head. Besides wouldn't shifting just prove I was a monster? I was trapped.

"By the way where's Calum? He's the real Alpha right, haven't seen him around here for a while have we?" She continued. dug the arrow in deeper and I closed my eyes to try and block out the pain.

"Enough." A voice yelled.

Mei blinked in confusion, and we both turned to see Ashton standing on the other side of the fire. His irises glowing with golden.

"I think it's time you left, Mei." Ashton growled darkly.

Mei jumped, and I took a deep breath as her grip loosened on the arrow as it clattered to the ground.

He looked down at her, "Sure you saved my sister, but that gives you no right to talk to Luke like that. That day was an accident and that friend of yours was going to kill him. I don't care that you were friends with Michael, your exactly like the rest of them."

Mei didn't look surprised at that. Ashton must've heard everything, I even wondered if that had been his and Michael's plan after all.

Mei stood up, "Well in that case it was lovely to meet you both."

"Leave." Ashton growled, I saw his eyes glimmer brighter with flecks of golden.

Without picking up her dropped arrow, she fled without even a glance back up at us.

I heard a door slide open, and noticed Michael appear from behind Ashton, a bag of marshmallows in hand.

"Mei's gone, isn't she?" Michael sighed looking around the empty fire.

Ashton and I nod.

"I was getting a little suspicious but what did she do?" Michael frowned.

"She threatened Luke." Ashton spoke simply.

Michael's eyes grew wide. "She did what?"

Ashton gestured towards the arrow that she had left. "She didn't do much with it, but she was threatening him with it."

"I guess people change a lot from when they were twelve." Michael sighs.

"Didn't we already learn that lesson?" I sighed, as both Ashton and Michael re-joined me around the fire. Finn had been proof of that to me, it was hard to believe that we had been best friends in year seven.

"True." Michael sighed, "I'm just pissed though because she stopped us from looking for Cal today. After she saved Ash's sister I thought perhaps we were still friends enough that she could help us."

"Maybe you still are, but she definitely still has it out for Luke." Ashton frowned. "She kept watching him the entire time. Actually, she was kind of looking at both of you."

"Hence why I went to get some food and left you to watch. I was curious to see what she did with only Luke there." Michael frowned.

I stared at them for a second, I hadn't even seen her looking in my direction. Michael a little, but I'd written that off to the fact she hadn’t seen him for such a long time. Well my suspicions about Michael's plan had been correct though. He’d left me out there as bait. Part of me was angry, but he’d made Ashton hang around I guess to stop her if things got out of hand.

"Marshmallow?" Michael smiled suddenly offering me the bag. I think he felt a little guilty for leaving with Mei like that.

I sighed, I couldn’t stay too mad at him for that. A small voice inside my head still told me that Calum would never have done that without asking me, but I brushed the thought off.

I nodded, taking one from him. He passed me a stick and I held it into the fire. As I watched the flames flick up around my marshmallow, cooking it. I could help but think that so many questions remained. What would've Mei have done if it weren't for the treaty? Who had left that note for Lauren? And more importantly would we ever find Calum?

 


	17. Revelations

"Calum Hood?" The teacher questioned their eyes moving around our homeroom class like a hawk.

I sunk into my seat. Hearing his name every day in homeroom was one of the hardest things about Calum running away. Every time someone called it, my heart would skip from the shock of hearing it. The first few times I'd been in class I'd quickly answered to the teacher that he was away. Now, I didn't even bother.

The teacher frowned down at the paper as he marked him away. I could faintly hear some of the other students discussing Calum's whereabouts. Many talked about how he'd run away again, and I could feel and see their eyes flicking over to me. I couldn't help but wonder if this was what it had been like for the few weeks when we'd been on the run. From what Kaylee had said, I found that easy to believe.

I looked down at the floor noticing a small white envelope sitting on my desk with my name written on it. I looked around for who had put it there. But no one was near my desk or even looking my way anymore. I turned it over to see who the sender was, but that part was left blank. Perhaps they had left that to the inside.

Carefully, I teared open the envelope to find that there was only a piece of note paperclip on it. I took the note out first and found that someone had written with marker on it in incredibly neat handwriting. I frowned at the words,

_'What if you aren't who you think?'_

I stared at it for a moment and raised an eyebrow. I noticed that there was a Polaroid picture paper clipped on the back and all that was in the frame was black. Confused, I tilted the image slightly, and even shook the image a little to see if the photo just needed to develop more. That was when I worked out that I could faintly see the shape of a wolf. It was hard to see and perhaps without enhanced vision I wouldn't have even noticed it. As I tilted the image from side to side I noticed how the colours of the wolves' eyes shifted from yellow to red.

My heart stopped. Either some knew about me being a werewolf or something much worse was going on.

Petrified, I quickly chucked the note in my pocket. I turned behind me to see who was sitting behind me, but it was just two of the boys from my maths class. They were harmless, they wouldn't do anything out of line. So, it couldn't have been them that left me the note. Yet, how could I tell without asking them?

Before I could ask them, the bell toiled through the building announcing the end of homeroom. Within seconds, the students around me raced from their desks. I watched each of them carefully, in case one had been watching for my reaction, but found no one to blame. Just who had put the envelope on my desk? I could only sit there wondering what it could mean.

It was in that moment, I felt a strong quake of fear through the bond. My thoughts clicked over, Michael. It was so strong that it had to be. Barely thinking I grabbed my bag and pushed through all the people leaving our class. I headed towards the part of the corridor that I knew Ashton and Michael's homerooms were in.

It didn't take me long to find them, Michael was storming down the corridor with an expression as angry as his currently red hair. Ashton was tagging behind him a grave look on his face. Both their eyes were searching. I think they were looking for me.

"Luke, you got one, too right?" Michael spoke quickly. He didn't even bother to lower his voice in the crowded corridor.

I nodded, before my eyes turned to Ashton, "You?"

Ashton quickly shook his head, "No, but I saw Michael's."

I was surprised that Ashton didn't get one. If someone was telling us that they'd discovered, we were werewolves you would've thought we'd have all received one.

To me, Ashton's lack of note seemed to imply even more. I was certain, it was something that only linked back to the two of us again. If Calum had been here I was almost certain that he wouldn't have had one either.

Michael and I exchanged worried glances. With everything that had been happening we hadn't talked much about our suspicions lately. Yet, it seemed perhaps we weren't the only ones looking into this.

A moment later, Michael grabs a piece of paper from his pocket. He holds his hand out to me, and I realise that he wants my note. I take it from my pocket and give it to him. He holds them up together. They're identical. The only difference the names written on the fronts of the envelope and the colour of the notes attached to the photograph. The same person did this. But how could've they have been in two places at once, Michael's homeroom was on the complete opposite side of the building? Unless they got someone to do it for them, but I didn't see anyone.

Michael examined the photographs for a while longer, before he looks over at Ashton and me.

"It's a picture of the Shadow Wolf isn't it?" Michael frowns.

I nod. I'd pinned it down to a wolf at least. Yet, I hadn't thought of it being the Shadow Wolf, until Michael had mentioned it. It was hard to tell the difference when it wasn't towering over you. My heart beat grew quicker as it dawned on me what this note meant.

"Both of us are the Shadow Wolf." I spoke, "It's the best explanation."

Michael raised an eyebrow at me, then his face grew wide in disbelief, "Wait, do you think it's possible that there could be more than one?"

I nodded slowly. "The note does say, what if you aren't who you think?"

"No way guys." Ashton shook his head, "Someone's playing you. Neither of you is the Shadow Wolf. Luke where the heck did you get that idea from?"

I bit my lip, I looked at Michael for help.

"Where's you're note then, Ash?" Michael frowned. "Luke and I have been trying to work out all this time why we could be different. Then this comes along just for the two of us. Doesn't that seem a little odd to you?"

I nodded in agreement, I shared the same logic as Michael on this.

Ashton shook his head again, "I know you guys aren't. You can't be, you've both been there every time we've seen the Shadow Wolf. Last I checked I've never seen either of you shift into one either."

"We know Ash." I frowned. "But, I blacked out somewhere that last time I faced the Shadow Wolf with Finn. What if somewhere in between all that-"

"Luke's right, what if there is more of them and we're it. We just haven't managed it yet." Michael spoke with a fearful look in my direction.

"You aren't Shadow Wolves." Ashton crossed his arms as he spoke in a gruff tone. "I'm sure of it."

I exchanged glances with Michael. We hadn't even considered this before today, but somehow it seemed like a reasonable yet scary explanation to why we can do what we can.

"How do we make sure we're not though?" Michael frowned.

Ashton sighed, "I don't know how. Look I just know that neither of you is like that thing. Every time I see it, I can sense it's dreadful and twisted nature. The same way we can sense hunters or other werewolves. I know something's not right about it."

"Well perhaps the real question is working out what makes the Shadow Wolf that way." I pondered, "Does something have to happen to it? Or is it natural?"

"Well before you start calling yourselves Shadow Wolves, then we're going to have to find out." Ashton agrees.

"Though where are we going to find out anything about Shadow Wolves?" Michael frowned, leaning up against the wall, "We've read every book we have at the den. Plus, all the ones I still have from my hunting days. That's all there is."

I frowned, who else might have information or books about Shadow Wolves? I considered every person I knew that even knew about the existence of werewolves at all. Then it struck me who we could ask, I hesitated for a moment surprised that I'd even thought of it at al. It was risky but perhaps it was worth the shot.

"I think I know where we might be able to get more information." I grimaced, Ashton and Michael looked at me expectantly, "But, we're going to have to go see my mum."

**************

After we'd collected Harry and Lauren from school, the three of us walked up the steps to my parents' house. I sighed, everything here seemed familiar but wrong. I'd once walked up these steps as my own, but I was unsure whether I was still welcome here. Michael gave me a reassuring smile, both he and Ashton had seemed to think that this was a good idea.

Michael knocked on the door, and my heart skipped a beat. This was a bad idea, we should turn around right now. The only thing keeping me here was Michael and Ashton.

A moment later and my mother opened the door, she smiled for a second before she looked over the three of us with an icy glare.

"Boys, what are you doing here?" She asked in a sharp tone.

I froze, my mouth running dry. It had been months since I'd seen her, she looked older somehow or perhaps I was just imagining it. My mind wavered, she had caused us so many problems I wasn't even sure what I was doing here. This was a stupid idea and we were going to get ourselves into more trouble.

"We need your help." Michael spoke quickly, realising that in this situation I'd been rendered useless. "What information do you have on Shadow Wolves?"

My mother looked surprised for a moment, "They're so rare. What do you need information on one of those for?"

"We think there's one around." Ashton spoke, causing a glare from Michael. We hadn't exactly discussed how we were going to explain this. We didn't want to send a whole group of hunters onto it, like they had us. If they'd wanted to capture us so badly I'd hate to think what they'd do if there was a Shadow Wolf. We still weren't sure whether the Shadow Wolf had a person underneath and I didn't want them to be harmed if there was a chance that they could be helped.

She bit her lip for a moment, and I was almost certain that she was about to tell us no. However, she nodded firmly. The three of us shared a stunned expression. My idea was so crazy that it might work.

"If there's one around, I'll try to help you out. A lot of people could be in danger if it gets out of control." She spoke, "Come in and I'll see what I can find."

People had already been hurt I thought to myself bitterly, thinking of Sam. I guess our definition of people and hers would be different. But I couldn't help but grin. We were in, my plan was working.

The three of us followed my mum into the corridor. We headed down into her office, a place I'd been in many times before when I still lived here. I could still remember the day when my mum had admitted the truth to me about her and my dad being hunters down here. I'd been so petrified of them finding out. I guess things hadn't turned out as badly as they could've. I was still here after all.

She gestures to the three of us to sit on a group of antique looking chairs, while she scans over her bookshelf.

"We can't put these ones on the database." She frowns, as she looks over the books, "So I have to use the old-fashioned method."

We wait as she flips through a few of the books. I notice she spends a lot longer on a large bound one. All I can make out of the title is something about irregularities. I frown, a feeling of nervousness growing in my chest. I glance over at Michael who is tapping his finger impatiently as his eyes are on my mother.

"This look like it?" She questions, suddenly turning the book towards us.

The three of us crowd around the book. Sure enough, there's a drawing of a large shadowy wolf like creature drawn on the page. It bared a striking resemblance to the shadow like wolf we had all seen.

The three of us nod, quickly. "That's the one." Michael nodded.

My mother furrowed her brow in frustration. "So, they do exist."

"You've never seen one before?" Ashton questions.

"They're rare. I mean I've been taught about them, but barely anyone has faced one and lived to tell the tale." She looked at the three of us with a sceptical expression, "You boys have really seen one of these?"

We nodded quickly. Her frown grew at that, she tapped her finger on the desk for a moment, before returning to the shelves. The three of us exchanged nervous glances. I was starting to grow worried, if barely anyone had survived crossing paths with one then we were extremely lucky. Did those letters mean what we thought? It seemed unlikely that there could be three or more of them in the same place at the same time, if they were as rare as my mother said that they were.

My mother passed a few documents and books out to us, Michael and I exchanged glances. There was a lot of reading to be done it seemed. I looked at the sheets of paper and the drawings, unlike the werewolf drawings from her other books this showed the shadow wolf in all its glory. It seemed the artists were better at drawing Shadow Wolves than normal werewolves. Surprising, considering I would've thought normal werewolves were more common.

I sighed, taking a deep breath for a moment as I looked at the drawing. Was it possible that Michael or I were one of these? It had taken me a few days to get my head around the idea of werewolves alone. Just the thought of facing one again made me shiver, let alone the possibility that I could turn into one of these too.

I couldn't dodge this forever, noticing that Ashton and Michael were reading there's and my mother was still searching the shelves, I began to read through my own information. There were three heavily detailed drawings at the top of the next page that caught my eye.

The first was drawing of an average human, it labelled this as its human form. It also explained that in this form a shadow wolf could be seen with possible werewolf features and glowing irises suggesting the form it was about to take. The second was an image of a wolf, underneath it explained that this was its wolf much like any of them. I frowned, Michael and I's theory still seemed highly probable. These were the same features as any other werewolf.

My eyes fell to the third illustration, a large shadow wolf with glowing white fangs and pulsing red eyes. The third form a shadow wolf could take and the one that terrified me the most. Disgusted, I shut the document.

Three forms. Three different faces. Three different ways to deceive us.

I frowned, this could be more difficult than we thought. We were now looking for a werewolf as well as they could shift between the three forms. Another thought struck me, how could we know if either Michael or I was one?

I looked over at Michael who was looking at the information pale faced and nervous.

"So, it turns out Shadow Wolves are like a genetic defect or a mutation." Ashton frowned, "No wonder they're so rare then."

"And they can change between multiple forms as well." I frowned.

Michael pointed to something in his page, "This part here explains what Luke was saying about struggling to breathe in its presence. It emits a toxin that affects werewolves causing their lungs to give out and disorientate them."

"No wonder I passed out and probably almost died then." I frowned looking over Michael's shoulder.

"Luke what happened?" My mother asked, the alarm evident in her face, she'd even paused looking through the shelves. Hmmm, maybe she did care about me still after all? I wasn't sure whether it was motherly concern or that of a hunter.

I froze up. I couldn't talk to her about this sort of thing. She wasn't my mother anymore, she had disowned me. Yet of the same token, she was helping us and was a hunter. Perhaps I was against what she did for obvious reasons, but I recognised the power that she had within the hunters. If anyone could help us to understand all this, she could.

I looked to Michael and Ashton for help, they both nodded suggesting that I could tell her about it if I wanted to.

With a long sigh, I told her about what had happened with Finn that day. It was evident by her expression that she was genuinely shocked. Even Ashton and Michael who knew what had happened looked a little rattled.

"So, all this has been going on, and none of you said anything?" She frowned. "I know we hunters haven't treated you fairly in the past. Yet, if this is threatening you're pack like this; Calum should've come and talked to me." She froze, looking around at us, "I haven't talked to him or his mother for a few weeks, is he okay?"

Don't look at the others I quickly tell myself. I'd had no idea that Calum had been checking in with the hunters. We hadn't even thought of that, and I'm surprised that Calum's mother hadn't brought it up when we'd told her he was gone.

"He's gone away for a little bit. He had a meeting to go to interstate. Hasn't had much reception so we've been relying on the bond to keep in contact." Michael spoke with a poker face. "He should be back soon, but I'm in charge until he gets back."

"Odd no one had informed me of that." She shrugged.

"With everything that's happened I guess we forgot." Michael shrugged.

She nodded, "Yeah, I guess that does make sense. I just wish you boys had told someone earlier. Look I'll see what I can do, get a team to keep an eye out for it, and research possible solutions with some of the other hunter bases. We won't let this Shadow Wolf continue to get away with this."

"That would be excellent." Michael agreed. "What we've been most worried about is that it will try to hurt someone else."

My mother nodded, seemingly pleased with Michael's response. When she turned back to the bookshelf. I gave him a thumbs up, he'd said the right thing.

We stayed there for a while, until between the four of us we had read every book my mother hand on the subject. So, with night approaching, the three of us decided it was time to leave. Besides, Michael seemed to think we might get a check for Calum in before we needed to have dinner. With the state of things, neither Ashton or I could disagree with that.

"Thanks, mum." I spoke, as the three of us stood up to leave.

"That's alright Luke." She replied.

Perhaps I imagined it, but I'm sure as we left I saw the small hint of a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! ^^


	18. As The Sun Rises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meant to post this earlier in the week, but the great Wattpad glitch this week meant I couldn't get onto the finished version of this story to post it! Enjoy though! ^^

I blinked as the beams of sunlight began to stream through the curtain and into my eyes. I rolled over and let out a sleepy yawn as I rubbed my eyes. Through the window, I could see the sun rising just over the hills behind the garden. I looked beside me to where Ashton and Michael were sleeping soundly, neither bothered by the waking sun. I smiled, they needed the rest.  
  
Moving cautiously, I crept out of the room making my way down the stairs and into the kitchen. I walked through the door and onto the back porch, taking a seat on one of the steps. The sky was illuminated with orange and the clouds danced above it. I hadn't woken up early enough to see the sun rise like this in years.  
  
Sitting here, I could forget.  
  
"Hey, Luke is everything okay?" A small voice asked as someone came to sit beside me.  
  
Startled, I turned to find Harry was now sitting right beside me. He didn't say anything for a moment, he flinched his eyes trained out towards the sunrise like he hadn't said anything. I raised an eyebrow at him, I had no clue how I was supposed to answer that. Was I okay?  
  
Harry twirled his fingers nervously for a moment. "Uh...it's just that you and Michael have been sleeping over here a lot, and I haven't seen Calum for ages. I'm worried about Ash to, like he got so scared when Lauren went missing and- "  
  
"It's okay." I half smiled over at him, it was incredible to see how much the young boy cared for his brother. "You don't need to worry about us. We just have a lot going on right now. We can handle it."  
  
Although, I wasn't too sure who I was saying those words for. The possibility of Michael or I being the Shadow Wolf plagued my thoughts, we still hadn't found Calum and with hunters like Mei around I wasn't sure how long she would stay out of things. I sighed, I knew things were bad when even a kid like Harry was picking up on it.  
  
"I'm old enough to see what's happening, you don't need to lie to me, Luke." Harry glanced over at me with wide eyes, "What's going on? I hate seeing you three walking around like this and not knowing what's wrong. I want to help."  
  
I sighed, looking into his wide and desperate eyes. He was much more intuitive than we gave him credit for. I could remember when he'd found out Ashton was a werewolf, he'd been so calm about it and I remembered him saying something like 'I knew something had happened.' Maybe I could tell Harry the truth, well at least some of it.  
  
"Calum left." I finally admitted.  
  
Harry's mouth dropped to the floor, "What you mean Calum's gone? Like he left you guys?"  
  
I nodded.  
  
Harry shook his head, he looked like he was struggling to process it. I knew Calum had met Harry dozens of times, and they had the same kind of friendship as Michael did. "But why?"  
  
"It's a little complicated." I frowned, realising that just telling him Calum was gone wouldn't be enough. "There were problems with a girl and he decided to leave town. We've been trying to track him, but it's been useless."  
  
"Whatever it is, can I help?" Harry spoke, a fierceness in his eyes, "I know I'm not a werewolf like you guys but surely there's something that I can do?"  
  
I sighed, "Look, right now the best thing you can do to help is to be kind to your brother." My heart sunk, as I realised that was the best I could offer him. I knew what it was like to be in a position where you so desperately wanted to help someone but couldn't. It's how I felt about Calum right now.  
  
Harry's face fell, his eyes tinged with disappointment. I wished there was more that I could say.  
  
"Geez, looks like everyone's up early." Michael's voice rang through the kitchen, as he switched on the light. As he walked out towards us. Harry suddenly looked nervous, as the two of us exchanged glances. I couldn't help but wonder whether Michael had heard everything.  
  
"Nice sun rise." He grinned leaning against the doorway. He let out a yawn and stretched his arm, yet he froze mid movement. He looked confused for a moment, and I sensed an odd feeling of surprise through the bond.  
  
"I don't believe this, but I think I've got a scent."  
  
I stared at him for a moment, raising an eyebrow. He was joking right?  
  
"Luke, I have a scent." Michael's eyes lit up, he looked at me enthusiastically as if trying to work out why I wasn't as excited as he was.  
  
Did this mean he was saying what I thought he was?  
  
"Calum?" I questioned slowly.  
  
"I think so, I'm not sure though. But I think it might be him." Michael spoke excitedly. "I have to get Ashton!"  
  
"I'm here. What’s up?" A voice yawns, and I turn to find that Ashton has entered the kitchen blinking his eyes sleepily. His face was shallow, and he looked pale with deep rings beneath his eyelids.  
  
Michael's face fell slightly, but still he still raced across the kitchen to tell him. "Ash, I have a scent!"  
  
Ashton glanced at him stunned, his eyes grew wide. "For real?"  
  
Michael nodded, and I stood up, moving to near the kitchen door, Harry stood beside me as he peeked around the corner with me.  
  
"Anyway, you two, let's get going." Michael spoke excitedly, looking between us, his eyes were already glowing with golden. "What are we waiting for?"  
  
Ashton paused, biting his lip. As he looked at his brother, "This is kind of important, are you alright here on your own?"  
  
Of course, Lauren was at a sleepover and Ashton's mum had been working a night shift, so she wouldn't be home for a few more hours. He was barely old-enough to stay home on his own and it was clear Ashton knew that. Harry nodded slowly. “I’ll be fine.”  
  
Ashton still looked a little nervous; but followed Michael as we went outside. After saying bye to Harry, we made it to the edge of the forest. Once we made it out there, the three of us shifted. We flanked Michael as we raced through the twigs and left. Leaving only dust in our wake. I noticed Ashton was struggling to keep up with us, but he kept trying to match our pace.  
  
Suddenly, Michael came to a slow stop, Ashton and I almost sliding right into him. Michael let out a small howl, and a second later there was the echo of a different one back. The three of us glanced at one another, even if it wasn't Calum there was another wolf out here. I just hoped that they were a friendly one if they weren't.  
  
Michael took off again in the direction of the returned howl, and Ashton and I followed him instantaneously.  
  
Eventually, I started to make out a dark figure up ahead. Yet, it was far too small to be Calum and it was moving slowly, almost zombie like. Michael let out a small howl in warning, and the figure looked up. It was another wolf. The small wolves, eyes widened and picking up speed it raced over to us its tail wagging in a flurry of movement. I couldn't detect any malice in the wolf's actions.  
  
As it reached us, the wolf slid across the ground sending rocks flying as they tumbled forwards landing a few meters from us. Michael dashed over to them and the smaller wolf seemed to be trying to pull itself up. I wondered if it was injured after the fall. As we drew closer I could hear it's ragged breathing as Ashton and I exchanged concerned glances. The wolf seemed to collapse in on itself, letting out a painful sounding groan. I winced, as the wolf curled in on itself before it formed into a small ponytailed girl.  
  
I gasped, I recognised her. It was Pip.  
  
Though what was she doing all the way out here?  
  
I looked over at Ashton and Michael, gauging their reaction. A mixture of concern and confusion was all I could sense. Neither of them seemed to know what to do. My attention turned back to Pip, it quickly occurred to me that there was none of the cheeky and lively girl that we had met a few months ago. I gazed over her torn clothes that were stained with a filthy mixture of dirt and blood. Her hair wasn't much better, it was a mess of twigs and leaves. Even her fingernails were crusted with dirt and grime. She'd come a long way through the forest clearly, some of the trip possibly made as a human. I frowned, shocked by how much dried blood she was covered in. My eyes searched behind her for Emily. Naturally it had seemed that wherever Pip went, Emily wasn't far way. This time though it didn't appear to be the case.  
  
Her chest was rising and falling faintly, her small breaths haggard. Her pale, blotchy skin was another sign that she wasn't doing well. I think she'd used the last of her energy on coming up to us. We had to do something. I looked at Ashton and Michael hoping one of them would have an answer.  
  
"We'll take her back with us." Michael declared as he shifted back and scooped the small girl up into his arms. He didn't seem bothered by the blood that was now staining him and his clothes. "We need to find out who or what did this to her, and where the heck Emily is."  
  
I nodded, it seemed we just had another problem on our hands.  
  
******************  
  
"Oh my gosh, what happened to her?" Harry gasped as we cleared room on Ashton's lounge room floor, Michael placed her gently.  
  
"That's what we're hoping to find out." Michael frowned, he looked between Ashton and Harry. "Does this house have some medical supplies? Anything will do bandages, cloths, disinfectant?"  
  
Harry and Ashton both nodded, Harry taking the hint raced out of the room.  
  
Michael ran his hand through his read hair as he looked over Pip. "Shit, guys what are we going to do? Cal's the one who's good at this kind of stuff."  
  
Michael was visibly shaken, but he did have a point. Calum or his mother were usually the ones who took over in these situations. We could contact Alex, but she probably wouldn't even be awake this early. Perhaps Ashton could try contacting her?  
  
"I guess, stay calm and improvise would be the best thing. Harry's already gone to get the medical supplies, so that's a start." Ashton spoke, he sighed, "It's going to be okay Mikey."  
  
Michael nods, though his expression seemed uncertain. Harry arrived a few seconds later with his arms filled with medical gear. Concerned, Ashton raced over taking a few from him and the two of them laid everything out in front of us.  
  
"Alright where do we start?" I frowned, there was dozens of options.  
  
Neither Ashton or Michael replied they both stared at everything with bemused expressions. This was hopeless, I let out a sigh.  
  
"I have an idea." Harry spoke quietly as he sat cross legged on the floor.  
  
All three of our eyes directly turned to him.  
  
"Well I was thinking if she fainted maybe she's dehydrated so is there anyone we could give her some water. Perhaps that might cool her down to start with. Then if she's like you guys she might start healing on her own."  
  
Following Harry's advice, the three of us got to work. Michael went and got some water, and I wet a towel to place on her head. Whilst Ashton and Harry worked to clean up her injuries. Within a few minutes she seemed to already be healing; the wounds began to heal up on their own. Her breathing became more even.  
  
"Hopefully this means it's working." Michael frowned. I nodded.  
  
She stirred for a moment, her eyes blinking. As soon as her eyes caught on Michael, she gasped. The surprise evident on her face. She sat up in alarm, she yelled, "Calum, I have to see Calum."


	19. Truths And Lies

  
"Calum, I have to see Calum." Pip repeated, her hands shake and tremble as she looks around the four of us, "Where's Calum?"  
  
I exchanged glances with the others. What did she need Calum for so badly? Her tone seemed to imply that it was important but none of us had any way of contacting him.   
  
"Calum's not here right now..." Ashton frowned, exchanging glances with Michael and I who nodded.  
  
Pip froze, she bit her lip for a moment. "This is important. I need to see him right away. Please ring him, call him, do something!"  
  
"We can't." I frowned, biting my lip. "We don't even know where he is."  
  
"What do you mean you don't know here he is?" Pip questioned her voice shaking as she looked around us with wide eyes.  
  
"We don't honestly know. He left and Michael's our Alpha while he's away. Didn't Emily tell you?" Ashton frowned.  
  
Pip shook her head, "Well this will change everything. Maybe I'm already too late."  
  
She burst into tears. Ashton instantly put his arms around her as she sobbed. I frowned, her words concerning me. What did this change? What was already too late? Where was Emily? But she was still young, and I knew that it was too soon to be asking her questions. I decided to leave this up to the others.  
  
As her sobs subsided, Michael cautiously moved closer to where she and Ashton were sitting. "So, what did you need Calum for Pip, maybe I can help?" He asked in a calm voice.  
  
Slowly, she pulled away from Ashton. She looked Michael directly in the eyes. "Emily was attacked."  
  
"Attacked? Attacked by what?" Michael prompted, his voice rising slightly in alarm. Ashton shot him a warning look.  
  
Pip sat in silence for a moment, "It was big, black, shadowy and had glowing red eyes...there was someone else with it, a wolf I think. Whoever it was they took her with them." She sighed, "Right before they left I heard them say that the Alpha of the Rosetta Park wolf pack would be next, they'd be referring to you guys, right?"  
  
I gasped, Pip's words forming themselves together. She had to be talking about a Shadow Wolf and if her words were true then I knew who its next victim was. Ashton wore a similar look of shock on his face. Though it was nothing compared to Michael. He was pale as if all the life had been drained from his body. He turned away from Pip, instead, facing me. I noticed the way his entire body trembled. Alarmed, I put my hand to his shoulder and patted him gently.  
  
"Mikey, it's okay." I spoke in the most soothing voice I could manage considering the circumstances.  
  
Michael took a deep breath, his entire body stopped shaking. He looked up at me. "So, it's probably me it's after then isn't it?"  
  
Slowly I nodded.  
  
"Or perhaps they're still just looking for Calum." Ashton frowned, biting his lip.  
  
Michael frowned, "Someone's still after one of us, whether it be Calum or me."  
  
"Or worse all of us." I spoke softly, thinking of how injured Pip looked. Had she tried to help Emily and what else had she been through to get to us?

Suddenly, Harry stood up and promptly left the room. I'd barely noticed him as I'd been so focused on Pip. I could hear him sobbing from the hallway. Ashton's face fell, and he pushed Pip away from him onto Michael who shot him a stunned look. He raced out the door a moment later.  
  
"Whoever it is, we have to let the hunters know." Michael frowned, looking directly at me.  
  
"No! Are you crazy?" I stared at him, I couldn't believe he would even suggest that. Sure, I remember what my mum had said about the hunters being able to help us. But I didn't think we could trust them with something like this.  
  
Pip frowned, "I thought the hunters were a danger to us. Weren't they the reason you came to stay with Emily and I?"  
  
"Yeah, but now they can help us. That's how it works. If our pack is ever threatened we can ask for their help to protect us, and they can ask for our help as well." Michael sighed, "Your mum helped us find information Luke, she could help us again."

I frowned, I still wasn’t sure that was how it worked.

“She only helped us because humans were in danger. I know this is still about the Shadow Wolf but at the end of the day Calum and you are both werewolves. They won’t want to help us.” I explained, “Besides, we’d have to explain to them how Calum’s not our packs Alpha anymore.”  
  
Michael ran his hand through his hair, "Well unless you have a better idea, what are we going to do?"  
  
"Look, whatever we do I'm not calling her. I think we should keep the hunters out of this" I sighed. Sure, Michael's plan to talk to the hunters was the best one we had but I still thought that it could be more trouble than it was worth.

"Let's be honest, we have no chance of tracking down Calum on our own at least not quick enough to find him in time. They’re experienced at finding werewolves. It makes sense Luke." Michael spoke again.  
  
I shook my head again just as Ashton walked into the room, he looked exhausted as he sat down on the other side of me. The three of us looked at him expectantly, "Harry's okay, he's just worried about us, that's all. All that talk about something being after him scared him especially after what happened the other night."  
  
I thought about what he had said to me earlier this morning, he really did want to help us. But there really wasn't much he could do. We weren't even sure that there was much that we could even do ourselves.   
  
"Anyway Ash, what do you think about this? Luke thinks it's stupid, but I think we should contact the hunters for help on this." Michael said. "They're good at tracking, they might be able to help us track down Cal."  
  
"No way." Ashton said instantly. "There has to be another way."

_"Ashton, come on."_ Michael spoke, gazing right at him.  
  
Ashton blinked for a moment, then he nodded, "You know maybe it's not a bad idea. We should probably talk to Luke's mum then. Luke where's your phone?"

I raised an eyebrow in confusion, why had Ashton changed his mind so quickly? Then before I could answer Ashton stood up and started walking towards my phone that was on charge on the other side of the room. I narrowed my eyebrows at Michael, as I realised what he was doing.   
  
"Stop! Enough Mikey! Fine, I'll ring her!" I yelled, with a slight growling at Michael. He looked startled, as if he couldn't see the problem.   
  
" _Never mind Ash, I changed my mind_." Michael sighed.   
  
A second later and Ashton had put the phone back in place. I couldn't believe Michael had tried to pull that. Ashton settled back into his original spot scowling at Michael. He was abusing his Alpha abilities again and neither of us were happy with it. Pip was watching us in concern.   
  
Barely looking Michael in the eye again I marched over to my phone and dialled her number. I was half surprised that I hadn't deleted it yet.  
  
As the number rang out, my mother's voice came over the voicemail, "Hi, if you hear this message I've left early and I'm at the office today."  
  
I didn't think leaving a voice message was the best idea, so I tried her once more coming to the same conclusion and put down the phone. I hoped that this would at least shut Michael up for a few minutes.   
  
"She's on hunter business I guess," I said, as I re-joined them.   
  
"Well if she's there then I think we might need to pay her a little visit." Michael frowned.  
  
I stared at Michael, it was one thing ringing her or going back to my old house to talk to her. It was a totally different ball game going to the hunters' base. We didn't know who we could meet, after encountering Mei there were some hunters who didn't agree with the treaty we'd made with them.   
  
Ashton shook his head, "No way. I think this is a terrible idea."  
  
Michael narrowed his eyebrows, and he looked between the two of us, "I don't think either of you is getting this. There is a strong possibility that the Shadow Wolf wants Cal or me dead. We have no idea how much time we have, if any. Didn't either of you hear what Luke's mother said? The Shadow Wolf is a danger to the hunters a well. Who do you think it'll go after once it's done with us? We can get them to help us based on that alone. But look if you two aren't in on it, then I'm going to see them myself. It's our best bet."

Ashton and I exchanged glances. Michael was totally serious about this. I still wasn't certain this was a good idea, but it appeared there was nothing Ashton or I could say that would stop him. I couldn't let him go alone either.  
  
"Alright, fine. We're coming with you." I sighed, and beside me Ashton nodded.  
  
*************  
  
"I think I'm just going to wait out here." Ashton spoke, as we arrived at the Hunter's base later that morning. Harry had stayed home and was keeping an eye on Pip for us. I raised an eyebrow at Ashton, I thought we were doing this together, he added, "Just in case Harry rings, or you two get caught."

I frowned as I exchanged a glance with Michael. Ashton’s words concerned me. I could feel my confidence waning, I bit my lip. Perhaps this wasn’t a good plan to follow along with after all.  
  
It was too late to back out now though. Leaving Ashton at the steps, Michael and I walked up them together. The last time we'd been here we'd been making a treaty with the hunters. Everything had felt so good that day, except that my parents still hated me. Though after my mum helping us out with information on the Shadow Wolf, perhaps that was beginning to change.  
  
Michael opened the door for me, and I frowned as we entered. It looked like a regular office, there was a large desk set up at the front. I frowned as my eyes fell on a sign. The sign read closed and suggested visiting a desk further down the corridor in the direction that the arrow pointed to. I exchanged glances with Michael who shrugged, I guess we were still quite early as it wasn't even nine o' clock yet.  
  
As we walked along the corridor, I was suddenly in that cold dark room again. I could feel the shackles that they had on me, burning on my wrists. The slight scent of the wolfsbane in the air designed to keep me weak. I could see my own hollow reflection as it burned back at me through the dirty glass. The awful names I'd been called sprung to life. And I thought of that awful scar faced girl with the hood. Although she deserved it, I hated knowing what I later did to her.  
  
"Luke, you okay?" Michael asked, his worried expression brought me back to reality. I hadn't realised I was trembling.  
  
I didn't respond to him for a moment, I simply looked around at our white walled surroundings. They were suffocating. It was almost as if they were closing in on me. I wanted desperately to escape. What were we doing here? We weren't welcome here, we might have a treaty, but the hunters hated us.  
  
"Do you want to swap with Ashton?" He asked slowly, when I didn't respond, my hand still shaking.  
  
"No I have to help you." I spoke weakly, though I wasn't sure if I believed it.  
  
Michael took my hand in his, I felt the strength in his arm as he tried to steady it. He looked me directly in the eyes, "It's okay, Luke. We're here together. None of that stuff they did to us is going to happen again. We have a treaty remember. They can't do that to us again."  
  
I took a deep breath, the only thing keeping me in this white corridor was Michael. That and that we were doing this for Calum's sake as well. Slowly, I nodded.  
  
With nervous anticipation we came to a second counter. I could see a hint of black hair peeking up from the counter as someone typed frantically. A second later a girl popped her head up. There was a collective gasp between the two of us. It was Mei.  
  
Did he still think this was a good idea? Especially considering Mei had threatened me only a few days ago. I know they had once been friends, but I didn't trust her for a second. Not anymore.

_'I know how to play this, let me do the talking.'_ Michael told me through the bond.  
  
I nodded, trusting him to do just that.  
  
"Look what the cat dragged in." Mei spoke her eyes on us, her face forming a cat like grin. I wanted to look away, but Michael and I held her gaze, "So nice of you to visit. Is your Alpha back yet, Mikey?" Mei asked as we met her at the desk. "Last I checked you're not Calum."  
  
Michael and I shuffled, we'd decided if we needed to tell the hunters about Calum we would. Yet there was an unspoken word between us that we couldn't let Mei know what Calum had done or he could be in a lot of danger. We hadn't thought this through, she knew he hadn't been around the other day and wasn't here now. We needed to speak to my mother, not Mei. I didn't trust her at all.  
  
"He sent us." I said quickly, with a quick glance at Michael as he nodded his head. I knew I was supposed to let Michael do the talking but it seemed like a spot I could jump in to. "He's still interstate."  
  
"Right, so what are you both here for anyway? I wouldn't think you two werewolves would stumble in here just to talk to little old me after what happened the other night." Mei grinned.  
  
Michael frowned, "Oh I'm not going to forget what happened between you and Luke, but a lot of people are in danger and last I checked that was your area of expertise,"  
  
I stared at Michael. What happened to talking to my mother? I did not see how talking to Mei could be considered a good idea, but I decided to let him continue. He'd been part of this world once upon a time, he had to know more about this than me.  
  
Mei shrugged, leaning back onto her desk chair, "Fine, what's going on?"  
  
I could only stay silent as Michael explained the situation, that someone had made a threat against Calum and multiple humans. I raised an eyebrow at that, but I figured that was just him trying to convince Mei that it was a hunter's job. He even made out that Pip was human and that Emily who was a werewolf that looked after her was taken. It was only stretching the truth slightly, but from Mei's expression it was beginning to work. I guess the whole hunters will help werewolves, if it means helping humans idea was true.  
  
"I'll get someone right away." Mei nodded, quickly racing away. Though before she left I could've sworn I saw a flash of golden.  
  
"Michael did you see that?" I whispered, knowing very well our abilities didn't work well in here.  
  
"So, it wasn't just me." Michael whispered back with a frown. "There's something off about her. She doesn't have a distinct scent either."  
  
When Mei returned, I couldn't help but stare at her looking for any more signs of something unusual about her. She showed no more signs of it. I sniffed the air for a moment looking for the scent of a hunter or werewolf, but Michael was right it wasn't like any other persons scent I'd encountered before. Perhaps more like a human but there was something different about it.  
  
Seeming not to notice, she pulled a pen from her desk and wrote a heading at the top of the page looking at us. "So, it seems everyone else is out, so they'll need me to take some notes."

Michael and I nodded, and she began questioning us for details. Like the description of the creature that had attacked Pip and Emily.  
  
"Oh, Luke, Michael?" I heard a voice question, when we were part way through. I turned to find my mother behind us with a raised an eyebrow "What are you both doing here?"

"Uh..." I started not sure what we could say.  
  
"It's fine, Mrs. Hemmings I have things under control." Mei grinned, as she twirled her pen in her hands.  
  
My mother nodded, I glared at Michael. Why wasn't he saying anything? My mother was who we were here to see. As my mother said her farewells walked away, I noticed that Michael was watching Mei carefully. He glanced around the office space.  
  
"No one's here, huh?" He questioned her sarcastically.  
  
Mei looked stunned for a moment, Michael's words flawing her. "No one here who has time for this. Luke's mother is on a very busy case now."  
  
I frowned, how did Mei know so easily that she was my mother. I looked over at Michael and froze. His eyes were glowing with golden as he stared her down. I see his nails extend into claws as he brings them down onto the desk, "Be honest Mei, what are you?"  
  
Mei looked calm, in-fact there was even a hint of a smirk in her gaze, "Maybe you should be asking yourself what you are Mikey or who you were?"  
  
Michael stares as her in confusion, I raise an eyebrow. I look over to Michael again, but his eyes are on her.  
  
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Michael yelled, his eyes glowing with a brighter golden. I placed my hand on his shoulder to hold him back. I had a feeling if she didn't give us a reasonable answer soon he would dive over the desk and shift into a wold right on top of her. Though with the threat of his and Cal's lives on the line who knew what he'd do. Her words were concerning me, but not enough to do that.

"We're more alike than you'd think." She grins, before she turns the page on the notepad and scribbles furiously. She passes it towards us. "Second room down the hall, then take the left door and enter the first code. Go to the top drawer of the filing cabinet and enter the second line."  
  
"What the heck has this got to do with finding the Shadow Wolf and Emily?" Michael frowned.  
  
"Oh no this is different. I'll sort that out. I have enough information now to pass on to the hunters." She spoke, passing the sheets closer towards him, "You wanted to know why the three of us are alike. You'll find your answers right there."   
  
"You've got to be kidding us Mei." I frowned.  
  
"Fine don't take it." She shrugged, "I'll leave it right here for you. But, I need to start getting this sorted. Someone will be in contact with you if they deem it important enough."  
  
With that she put a closed sign up on the desk, leaving the note right next to it as she left. I looked around, Michael and I were the only two people in here now.

Slowly Michael picked up the piece of paper with the instructions and looked over them carefully. He let out a long sigh as he bit his lip.  
  
"Do we trust her?" I frown at Michael. "I mean you two were friends' right?"  
  
"Yeah, and I feel like these could be the answers we're looking for Luke." Michael frowns clutching the piece of paper, "She even said we're alike. What if this is what we're searching for? Why we could disobey Calum, and you can disobey me too now I'm Alpha."  
  
"And if it's not?" I raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Well this must be important for her to carry on like this. I don't think it's a trap either. Her heartbeat stayed the same the entire time," Michael spoke. "I don't think she was lying."  
  
"I don't trust Mei, not after what she threatened me with." I frown. "Or blatantly lied to my mum in front of us."  
  
"After that, I don't either, but there's something there Luke I know it. Let's look at least."  
  
"You know it could be a trap, right?" I question as we walk the hallways. I try to ignore the nagging doubt in my stomach but it's impossible.  
  
Michael lets out a long sigh, but I ignore him. I’m far too nervous to think of anything else. What if one of the hunters sees us doing this? Everything we’d worked so hard for would be over.  
  
We follow the instructions until we came to a locked door, I noticed the place to enter a keypad and groan. I knew she was trying to trick us. Michael frowns, looking at the sheet of paper. He quickly punches a code in before placing his hand on the door knob, I'm surprised to find that the door opens right up. We exchange glances as we enter the room.  
  
It looked as though it was someone's office, but the room was covered in dust and cobwebs. I noticed a photo sitting on the desk. There was a group of people in the photo. I gasped as I recognised the people in it. I dusted it off with my hand.

There were my parents together, me and my brother were with them, but we were both perhaps only about five and seven. I had my arm linked with another boy who I didn’t recognise. We wore matching grins and seemed to be friends in the image. There was a man about my parents age who had his hand on the small boys’ shoulder and didn’t look impressed with the two of us. Beside them there seemed to be a third group, a beautiful woman with a high ponytailed up-do of oriental descent. With her was a girl who looked like her daughter who seemed to be about the same age as my brother. Both were dressed immaculately. There seemed to be a fourth family, that stood to the side of them, two adults around the same age as my parents with a son and daughter as well.   
  
"Hey, that's me and my uncle." Michael spoke looking over the photograph, there was a mix of fondness but hatred in his eyes.  
  
I stared over at him, startled that we were both in the same picture. "Which one are you?"  
  
He pointed towards the boy I had my arm linked with. I stared at him.  
  
"That's funny because this is me." I spoke pointing toward myself.  
  
Michael almost dropped the photograph, as he stared at the photograph, "You mean to say we met when we were kids?"   
  
"It looks like it." I spoke, stunned. I couldn't believe it, and Michael and I looked as though we had gotten along well too. Just why couldn't I remember this though? Perhaps we only met that once.   
  
"Geez, one bombshell and we haven't even opened the filing cabinet yet." Michael said. He looked around, "I wonder whose office this was. I don't think whoever owns this photo has been in here for a while."  
  
I shook my head, placing the photo back on the desk, "Well I guess we better get to it. I don't know how much time we have."  
  
Michael nodded, his eyes quickly turning to the filing cabinet in question. As we opened the drawer, I soon realised that each of them was marked with a stamp marking them as classified. I frown as Michael opens some of them. Dozens of names, most of them deceased years before either of us were born. Many as young children. By the time we reach the back, I see a name that sticks out at me. Mei's.  
  
I frowned, did this mean she had just lead us to a file on herself.  
  
Michael didn't seem deterred, he opened the folder up lying it out on the dusty desk. There were injection records from before she was born, notes about her from over the years. There were odd ones about her behaviour, talking about her unusual strength and skills. There were photos too, and I soon identified her as one of the other children from the picture on the desk. She'd been with Michael and I too.   
  
"Crap, Luke there's more," Michael mutters, I realise he's no longer by my side and looking back in the filing cabinet again. I move over to join him noticing that there' at least two more files left in the cabinet. I see Michael's name on the first one and as Michael pulls it away, I notice mine is on the second. We exchange worried glances.  
  
"We don't have to do this Luke." Michael says quickly. "Perhaps we're better off not knowing."  
  
"No, we need to. There's a reason she sent us to look here," I frowned.  
  
"We'll look at them together, hey?" Michael spoke nervously, as he took his file into his hands. He passed me out mine as well.   
  
I nodded.

I took a deep breath as I opened the contents of the file out onto the desk. It quickly became apparent that my file was a lot like Mei's with a list of injection records with all sorts of unusual names and codes attached to them. Then I came to pages and pages of notes, even photos of me growing up the most recent from about a year ago. I scanned through the pages, my hand trembling more with every word. By the time I was finished all I could do was shut the folder and closed my eyes.  
  
If this was the truth I was never who I thought I was. I looked over at Michael who was white as a ghost. His file can't have been much better.  
  
"Show me your file Luke," He spoke quietly.

We compared the files, realising that they were almost identical. The main difference was that most of Michael's dates were a few months before mine as he was a few months older than me. A few dates at one point were the same, but the last one that was the same stuck out, I frowned thinking of the notes I'd read.

It all seemed to pull everything together. I just couldn't process it, not right now. All I could tell was that we'd been part of the hunters plan this entire time without even knowing it.  
  
******  
  
"You guys were taking so long, I was getting worried." Ashton frowned, as we left the hunters complex meeting him on the steps, he paused for a moment registering our expressions, "Are you two okay?"  
  
I looked at Michael. He looked as shaken as I felt. I imagined I looked similar. We were going to need to tell Ashton eventually. I knew Michael had enough to deal with, his sudden Alpha status especially. He hadn't needed this. In fact, I hadn't either. How did we know we could trust Mei, but those files made it sound like whatever she was referring to was legit.  
  
"What the heck was that?" I whispered to Michael now that we were out of the building.  
  
"I have no idea." He says. "But we're going to have to find Calum, as soon as possible. I don't trust Mei to get the hunters to help us."  
  
I didn't either. I didn't trust much anymore. Not even myself.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll have to wait for a later chapter to find out what they discovered, but thank you so much for reading!


	20. On The Road Again

_I stood alone in the field, my heart thumping in my chest as I tried to catch my breath. I looked upwards at the sky; a cloudless blue. The long grass and trees moved from side to side around me as I tried to hold back my tears. I was lost, but at least for a moment I felt safe._

_Then, I hear someone yell, and their footsteps loud and violent as they knock everything in their path. Fear ignites in my chest, I know their searching for me. They come to a stop suddenly and I might not be able to see them, but I know I'm surrounded. I hear the whoosh of their weapons, I gulp._  
  
I crouch down covering my head, just as I hear their arrows fly above. I stay like this for a few moments, until I feel a burning sensation in my arm. The pain is immense, I drop to my knees letting out a long loud howl. I close my eyes.  
  
I feel something warm against my arm, and just like that the pain appears to subside. I glance up, my eyes meeting with a small light-haired boy. I glance at him skeptically, he simply grins, "It's okay. You don't need to be afraid of me. We're the same."

_"You're like me?" I question, with wide eyes._

_The other boy nods. My fear subsides, as I take in the boys’ grin. I was surprised to find that I wasn't afraid of him, that perhaps I wasn't alone._

_He takes my hand, and I feel a great sense of connection as he leads me through the long grass. Weapons continued to soar above._

_I knew I was in a lot of trouble for being out here, that's why they'd sent them after me. I ran as I’d heard them arguing with what to do with me with cross expressions on their faces. I was just old enough to realise that some of them wanted to hurt me. These people who were following me now didn't want to just take me back to my parents. They knew I was slightly different to them._

_The other boys, movements seem much more confident than my own and it takes me a moment to realise how fast we're running._ _A swell of amazement rises in my chest, he hadn't been lying about the two of us being the same. We don't seem to stop until we come to rusted iron gate, the blonde kicks it down easily. I look at it sceptically, but the other boy insists, I trust him now, so I follow him._  
  
After making it through trees, we're surrounded by strange sights. A rusted merry go round, a dilapidated ghost train. I realise that we're in an abandoned theme park. The boy leads me through, his eyes searching. We duck into the ghost train and the two of us clamber into one of the carriages. I try to look up; but the other boy quickly pushes my head back down.  
  
I hear heavy footsteps and from my hiding spot I notice their weapons as they walk. I lift my head up again, as I notice the other boys' eyes are trained on something, his face paled. There's scenes of gunfire and the people that had been following us were falling. I let out a small gasp of horror and the other boy covers my mouth pulling us both back down into the safety of the carriage.   
  
I hear the clip clop of footsteps, I crush closer to the other boy my heart thumping loudly in my chest, we were caught. We had to be. A moment later there's a dark-haired woman peeking down at us, the two at us stare at her for a moment.

_"Come on boys we're leaving."_

_I wasn't sure whether I trusted her. I exchange glances with my new friend, he leaves the cart willingly. I shoot him a fearful look and he turns back and holds his hand out to me. Nervously, I take it and he helps me out of the cart. He holds it all the way out of the park until we come to a black car. I jerk backwards, feeling uncertain once more._

_"It's okay." The other boy speaks softly, "These people are our friends. They'll take us home."_

_I glance at him apprehensively. These weren't the same people who had been arguing what to do with me had they? Maybe they were the ones fighting to let me live?_

_"Are they bad?"_

_He shakes his head. I notice the woman shooting us a frustrated look as she gestures towards the car. Cautiously, I decide to follow the other boy up into the back seat. Once inside I catch a glimpse of the two of us in the rear-view mirror, I notice the way both our eyes are flecked with golden, mine also with blue his green. He was right, we were the same._

_The car starts up and I take to the sky, my eyes glancing up at the now clouded blue through the tinted window and frown._  
  
"What's your name?" I question to the other boy realising I had never asked.  
  
"Michael." He grins. "And you?"   
  
"Luke."

_***************_

"Oi, Luke, wake up." A young female voice yells in my ears.

I blink awake sleepily, pulled from the dream. Opening my eyes to a small red-haired girl her wide green eyes staring me right in the face. That's right, Pip was here. Well at least if she had the energy to yell like that, she was feeling better, I supposed to myself. I rubbed my head as a slight pain burned through it and sat up on the mattress. Why had that dream seemed so important? So vivid?

"Okay, okay. I'm awake." I frowned at her, glancing at her expectantly. There had to be a reason for her waking me up like that, surely.

"Hurry up, Luke. Get up, it's past nine o'clock already." Pip frowned, pouting at me as she sat on the edge of the mattress.

I glanced around Ashton's room. Michael was still asleep, but Ashton's spot was vacant. I sniffed the air, catching the rich buttery scent of pancakes from downstairs. My stomach rumbled hungrily.

"Is Ash already up?" I questioned her.

Pip nodded, "Yeah, he's the one making pancakes, he sent me up to get you guys."

At that, there was a loud groaning noise as Michael rolled over. Pip jumped back startled, almost falling right on top of me. The two of us turned in his general direction. His eyes flickered open as he looked over at us. His eyes shot daggers at Pip.

"Some of us are trying to sleep here?" He growled sleepily.

"There's pancakes." Pip told him with a grin.

Michael's eyes widened, seeming to wake up at those words, "Oh wow, really?"

Pip nodded excitedly. She stood up before clambering back over the mattresses on the floor.

"Meet you downstairs, if you're not fast enough. I'll eat them all." She grinned, already turning on her heel.

"We can't have that." Michael teased back, calling out to her over his shoulder.

As Pip left, an odd feeling nagged at my stomach, as my thoughts returned to the dream that I'd just had. What was it that I had just seen? I thought of the small boy who had seemed to help me in it, his name had been Michael right? Odd.

"Luke what's up?" Michael said, when he noticed that I wasn't moving to head downstairs.

"Weird dream was all nothing much." I replied, feeling as though I could tell him. "I think yesterday just really messed me up."

"You and me both." Michael agreed solemnly. He turned away and begun rummaging through his bag for a moment, not meeting my gaze, "I had a weird dream as well...we were kids, I found you, you were scared-"

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. The similarities striking from just those few words.

Michael turned back to me, frowning as he'd obviously felt my confusion through the bond. "Wait, you don't think it was the same one, do you?"

"Of course not, because that would be highly impossible." I replied. "But in my dream, I'm pretty sure you were the one who found me. You were looking for me, weren't you?"

Michael nodded slowly. He sat back down on the mattress seeming to think for a moment, he frowned glancing at me sideways, "Unless it wasn't a dream, a memory perhaps?"

"But why wouldn't we have remembered it before?" I glanced back at him.

"I don't know." Michael sighed, "This is so confusing, I don't understand anything anymore."

"Me either." I frowned.

"Whatever it is, until we're certain we don't tell Ash about any of this." Michael speaks.

I nod in agreement.

"What aren't we telling Ashton?" A small voice asked. I looked up, finding Pip was standing at the doorway, munching on her pancake.

Michael and I bit our lips, frowning at one another. Michael's face smoothed, "That we were having trouble sleeping last night." He let out a yawn,

Nice save, I thought. Pip barely battered an eyelid, instead she crossed her arms and frowned at us, "Anyway, hurry up?"

"We'll talk about this later." Michael nodded at me. It seemed we had a lot more to talk about than we thought.

Slightly shaken still the two of us followed Pip downstairs. Ashton was just placing a plate of pancakes on the table and Harry and Lauren were already there devouring them hungrily. Pip hadn't been joking when she'd said that they'd eat them all.

"Good morning," He grinned at the two of us as we entered.

"These look delicious Ash." Michael grinned, his grave mood disappearing in an instant. I tried my best to put on a smile, but I wasn't sure whether it came across how I wanted. I silently wished I had Michael's skills. 

I watched as Lauren and Pip chatted animatedly about a show they'd both watched that morning on the television. Harry on the other hand shuffled his pancakes around on the plate with his knife and fork. Ashton frowned, his eyes falling on him.

"You aren't hungry?" Ashton questioned softly as he looked over at his brother.

Harry shook his head, as he continued to fold over his pancakes, not meeting Ashton's gaze.

"Is something wrong?"

"You guys can't leave again." He finally spoke.

I frowned, everyone at the table knew that we were leaving to find Calum for real this time. There would be no more half-hearted efforts trekking through nearby towns on the weekend or useless searches through the forest. Calum needed to know the danger he could be in, and that we needed him back. Yet, I hadn't thought of Harry. He'd heard what Pip had said yesterday morning and I think he understood the nature of why we were leaving. I think when we had left a few months ago to escape the hunters it had hit the younger boy harder than we thought. It was clear he didn't want Ashton to leave again.

Ashton let out a long sigh, "I'm so sorry Harry, but we have to find Calum now. We'll be back before you know it."

"But are you really going to come back? I heard what she said." His eyes wavered over to Pip for a moment, who stopped eating her knife and fork landing with a clatter into her pancakes. Even Lauren had stopped.

"Harry, we talked about this yesterday. Nothing bad is going to happen alright." He told him.

"Yeah, we're going to look after your brother." Michael smiled, "So don't worry about him."

I did my best to smile as Harry looked between us. He frowned but started eating his pancakes again anyway. Ashton's shoulders relaxed and everyone at the table went back to eating as if nothing had been said.

I felt a little guilty, it was easier for me to leave as there was no one here that I was worried about that wasn't coming with me. Michael had his parents, but they seemed to be fine with him doing whatever he needed to. Ashton had his siblings though, and it had been obvious to me this entire time that he hated leaving them.

The rest of breakfast continued in silence, even Pip and Lauren were now quiet. Harry's words had spooked everyone it seemed. To be honest, it had started to make me wonder as well.

************

"Geez, that was tough, what was I supposed to tell him?" Ashton frowned, as the three of us started getting our things together to leave back in his room. "I said that we were all going to come back, but we don't even know that anymore. It's not as if I can stay here and let the two of you go off looking for him."

"You said the right thing." I said, giving him a sympathetic glance, "If you had told him otherwise, he would've been more upset."

Michael agreed, "Yeah, Ash. But look let's be positive about this, we are going to find Calum, get to the bottom of whoever took Emily and come back safe."

Neither Ashton or I replied.

Michael let out a long sigh. "It's too far-fetched isn't it?"

"Just a bit. We've all seen the Shadow Wolf, but you weren't like I was, Michael." I spoke, "If that is what this is all about, then I don't even know if we stand a chance, it was only Alex that helped me, I’d ask her for a help again but what she used affects us as well."

The three of us jumped, as there was a loud tap on the door. "Hurry up!" A small but angry voice yelled from the other side. I sighed, it was Pip again, she'd be so antsy all morning about us leaving.

Ashton sighed picking up his duffel bag and swinging the car keys on his finger, "Well, shall we?"

**********************

"Aren't I coming with you?" Pip frowned, pouting as Ashton pulled up into Calum's driveway. Ashton hadn't even turned off the ignition and Michael had opened the door to let her out.   
  
"No" I spoke, "You're staying here with Calum's mum, remember?"  
  
Pip glared at me. We'd told her this dozens of times, yet she still seemed to refuse to listen to us. All her behaviour this morning made sense, naturally I knew she wanted to find Emily as much as the rest of us. I knew she was tough and could see how much she wanted to stay, but the risk was far too great to be having such a young kid tagging along with us.

As Ashton killed the ignition. Calum's mother was already walking out of the house to meet us. "Hello boys and ah, you must be Pip." She grinned warmly. As we rounded the car to greet her, Pip stayed close to me examining Calum's mother carefully.  
  
"If I stay here you'll find Emily?" She asked me with a raised eyebrow.  
  
I nod, "We'll find Emily."  
  
"And Calum?" She questioned.  
  
I nod, Pip looked between Calum's mother, the car and the three of us. I wasn't sure this was going to work.  
  
"I was thinking that we could make some choc chip cookies today, what do you say Pip?" Calum's mother smiled warmly at the little girl.

We were all aware that we couldn't just dump Pip here, especially if she didn't want to stay. After everything she'd been through she still had trouble trusting people. Michael had suggested asking Calum's mother to look after her for us as she wasn't able to stay at Ashton's place for various reasons. We'd left her with Lauren's number in case the two wanted to hang around together, especially after seeing how well they'd gotten on this morning as they were around a similar age.

When we told Calum's mother our plan, she'd gladly agreed to it.   
  
Pip smiled, finally backing away from me. "I love cookies, let's make some!"  
  
A relieved look crosses the three of ours and Calum's mothers face. We'd all knew that this would be the hard part, but I think our trust in Calum's mother and perhaps even the cookies seemed to be enough to sway her.   
  
"Thanks so much for doing this." Michael says.  
  
She shakes her head, waving him away, "Not a problem. You boys are finding my son. So, I can deal with this one I'm sure."  
  
Before we leave Pip hugs each of us, and Calum's mother wishes us good luck.  
  
The three of us climb back into the car. As Ashton starts the ignition I can see Pip and Calum's mum waving from the rear-view mirror. My heart skips for just a moment, feeling a twinge of regret at leaving her there. But, it was the right thing to do I hoped.  Where we were going who knew what dangers lie.  
  
As the car drives away, I notice that Michael doesn't switch on the radio. Instead from the back seat has a paper map out. It's marked with places that we've already visited on our search for Calum.

We had already decided last night to head further North this time far beyond the borders we've searched previously. We'd decided to start searching in that direction as it had been the one Calum had been running towards when he'd left. We'd searched a couple of town's south of Rosetta Park, but Michael seemed to think we were getting colder by going in that direction.  
  
"So where exactly do you think he is?" I ask once we were out of the city and had pulled onto the large highway that lead out of it and up the coast. "Like where are we searching first?"

There was a silence for a moment, as no one had much idea other than that we were travelling north to try to find him. Ashton had his eyes trained on the road, and Michael shuffled in his seat biting his lip.

"Well the truth is last night, I tried again to sense him, I think it was the most effort I'd ever put into trying to do it." Michael spoke, before sucking in a deep breath, "And I managed it."

Ashton and I's eyes lit up, was Michael being serious. Why hadn't he told us? I frowned, a lot had gone on this morning before this point.

"So, look I managed to grab him for like a second. It was insane but for a moment it was almost as if I was looking through his eyes. We were in a largish city and I saw landmarks and things, but I honestly don't recognise any of them. They weren't from anywhere I've been before. So, I'm not sure where he is."  
  
I bit my lip, there were a few larger cities up the coast from here. I'd even lived in quite a few of them or simply passed through them. I wondered if I would be able to recognise them?  
  
"Maybe you can show me?" I ask.  
  
Michael frowned, "Well I can't draw too well, so that's- "  
  
"No, that's not what I mean." I speak again, interrupting him, "I think I need you to show me."

Michael looks confused, "How do I show you something? It’s not like it’s on my phone or anything." Then he gasps, "Wait a second, Cal was able to do that, sometimes wasn't he? If he wanted, he could show you a memory or an image. We only did it a few times, but I think I know what you're talking about Luke."  
  
He ponders the thought for a moment, and nods.

"Alright, I'm not sure if I can, but I'll try. Ash, pull over okay?" Michael suggests.  
  
Ashton searches the road for a moment, before putting his blinker off and pulling off to the side. He switches off the ignition and the three of us sit in silence.  
  
"How did you know about this Luke?" Ashton asks, with a bewildered expression. I guess he was the only one who didn't know about this.  
  
"Uh...well... Calum showed me some things when he was telling me about Sophie...I figure now that Michael's an Alpha he might be able to do it too." I explain, hoping it didn't sound too weird.  
  
"Alright, well I don't know if it would work with two people at once though." Michael says looking between us, "I can try though."  
  
Michael closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. I see nothing for a moment, and Ashton lets out a sharp gasp. I open my eyes.

"You did it." He spoke, looking at Michael with a bewildered expression. Michael looked at him expectantly. Yet, a moment later he let out a long sigh, "I have no idea where that is though. Luke did you see anything?"

I shook my head. Michael bit his lip, "One at a time then, huh? I'll just have to try it again."

Michael and I close our eyes, and I hear him take a deep breath. Suddenly, I see the images in my head. I'm in a room in an apartment building. It's small, perhaps even only a hotel room. They walk over to the window and look outside. A city appears, tall skyscrapers surround it, I notice a strange shaped dome like building that I instantly recognise.  
  
I jerk backwards pulling myself out of the thoughts, "Whoa, I actually know that place."  
  
"Yes! Where is it?" Ashton cheers, I notice Michael blinks looking slightly drowsy beside him. The effort that had taken him clear.   
  
"King's bay, I think." I spoke, as Michael's attention seemed to focus again, "We lived there for a couple of months, during the summer last year. It's a few hours north of here. I think if you take the highway we should make it there in a few hours."  
  
Michael looked on the map, pointing King's bay out easily. "Of course, the forest leads around to there. He could've made it up there without crossing major roads. It's way past where Emily's was though, so I'm not sure if we'll find her."

"That's okay, we have a lead for Calum, so let's find him first." Ashton nods, "Then we can start worrying about Emily."

Michael frowns, but nods in agreement.

"Nice work Luke." Michael speaks, as Ashton starts the car, "All your moving around helped us after all."

I nod, still unsure what was going to happen when we did eventually find him. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're off to find Calum, hopefully!
> 
> Anyone else silly like me and woke up at 5am expecting a new song? D: Oh well, we've waited this long a few more days won't hurt....


	21. Adventure Is Out There

It was around lunchtime by the time we made it to King's Bay. Traveling up the highway was a lot quicker it seemed when you weren't on the run from hunters and having to take back roads and long cuts to get there.

"So, this is where Calum has been hanging out?" Michael questioned, his nose pressed against the glass as we were greeted by a welcome sign with a cartoon like king on the road leading in. I remembered whilst I'd been living here a few of the kids had defaced it, by graffitiing it with extra features like glasses and buck teeth. There'd been a huge town uproar about it. Today, there was no sign of it.

As we'd made it into the actual town, around us were the tall buildings that I remembered from the few months that I'd lived here. It was odd. It felt so strange to be back here. I saw the milkshake shop I'd visited regularly and the street I'd lived on for those few months. This place didn't hold a lot of memories, but it held enough.

I'd only had a few friends here, as my brother had just moved out and the only person near my age around was a girl named Holly who was living in the same apartment at the time. I wondered if we went back there, whether she still lived there? She was the kind of friend that you talked to initially because your parents wanted you to pass the time with them. Unlike me, she'd gone to the local school, but she didn't exactly talk much of it. My parents had home-schooled me for the month or two on either side of the summer, so I hadn't had a chance to go there or make many friends for that matter. 

Part of my stomach sunk as I thought about the destruction my parents must have left behind here as well. I closed my eyes as my thoughts tried to lead onto my latest discovery. Michael noticing my reaction, shot me a half-hearted smile. He was the only other person who could possibly understand my feelings right now and all the confusion and fear that came with it. 

After driving around for a while, Michael eventually tells Ashton to find us a parking spot and he does, right near the large park in the centre of town.

The three of us leave the car, and I glance around us. From memory this place was massive, but surely there would be a way to find him.

"Mikey can you sense anything here?" I ask him.

Michael frowns, "No I can't, but I could really use something to eat."

I stare at Michael, he had to be kidding me. Beside me, Ashton laughs, "And you pick on us when we get hungry like this."

Michael bites his lip looking guilty for a moment, but it clearly fades forming into a grin as his eyes fall on me, “Alright, Luke. You lived here, where will we find a good place to eat?” 

I frowned as I tried to think of some of the good places that I used to go to during my time here. I hated being the travel guide but lead the way anyway. The sooner we had lunch the more time we had to find Calum before night fell. I just hoped we weren't already too late. 

***********

"Alright, so now we've eaten. Can you sense anything?" Ashton asked, once we were finished eating.

Michael took a deep breath, "I can sense something, but I'm not too sure if it's Calum or not. I guess we'll just keep walking around and hopefully I might find him."

Ashton and I exchanged glances but decided to follow along with Michael anyway. The only way either of us could find him now was scent and for that we would have to find somewhere he'd been, so Michael was still our best bet.

We worked our way through rows of shops, none of them carrying any scent or sign of him. Michael frowned, his brow furrowed in concentration at every stop.

We ended up at a park. It was massive with rolling hills, I could see a family trying to launch their kite on the top of it. I'd forgotten about it myself, though I could faintly remember one day during the summer coming here when they'd made it into a giant slide by laying down tarpaulin over the grass on the hill and adding soap and water, so people could slide down on it.

We eventually came to a line of sculptures on either side of the park. Most of them were statues of people, but from where I was standing I noticed one of a dog too. I read the inscription of the first one, that explained that the man was the one who had founded King's Bay. I looked up noticing that the statue depicted an older man with a long beard and a cane.

"Do you think I look like it?" Michael grinned at me, as he impersonated the statue by sticking his arm out like he was holding a cane and holding his head at the same angle as the statue and pulling a funny face as he stroked a fake beard.

"No, what about this one?" I grinned, walking over to another one with a fancy looking guy with a puffed-up wig and his nose high in the air. I pretended to puff up my air wig.

"No way, Luke my statue posing is superior to yours." Michael grinned back, before the two of us cracked up into laughter. I smiled, it was nice to be both laughing about something. Though I was surprised that Ashton hadn't added onto it with his own impersonation of one of the statues.

I turned around noticing that he was no longer standing with us but was walking further down the path, towards some of the other statues. He didn't seem interested in what Michael or I were doing at all.

I exchanged glances with Michael who shrugged. Michael walked forwards, trying to catch up with him. I followed.

Ashton stopped at one of the sculptures on the end of the row, his eyes grew wide as he looked upward. When Michael and I caught up to him, I realised that it was a ginormous wolf. It was heavily detailed, each bit of fur seeming to be expertly carved out. It looked regal, it's figure caught in motion. As I studied the wolves' eyes. I felt as though it was watching me. Yet, why did this park have a sculpture of a wolf? There was an inscription, but it was heavily worn with age.

I glanced at Ashton and Michael who were both staring it in awe. Michael shook his head suddenly.

"Calum's been here."

Ashton and I shot surprised glances at him. It was starting to seem like maybe we weren't on the wrong path after all. A sign of him was exactly what we were here for. I was about to say something, when I heard the crackly laugh of someone.

"You boys are interested in the wolf statue I see." A strong, but slightly frail sounding voice spoke. I turned to find an elderly woman, dressed in bright clothing standing behind us. She wore dozens of different beads and trinkets across her neck. She was a little bit intimidating, Nervously, I stepped back from her. Unsure, how to react. Judging by Michael and Ashton's expressions they were feeling quite similar.

"It has a beautiful story you see...." She smiled warmly, her eyes drifting up to the statue, "There was a pack of wolves here once that protected this place from harm for decades. They were fierce and tight knit. Some even thought they were human like in their personalities."

I blinked, finding meaning in her words. They sounded like werewolves.

"Like werewolves?" Ashton questioned realising what I did.

The older woman half-smiled, her wrinkles creasing around her cheeks. "Perhaps they were."

The three of us exchanged glances, I wonder if she knew? Or perhaps she was one herself? I couldn't help but sniff the air picking not much except the smell of roses and lavender, there was something else that I couldn't put my finger on.

"They saved many lives, some say that their ancestors still protect us here today." She continued, "I know when I was little one did. I had wandered away from my parents and saw something I could not begin to describe to you boys. The wolf that day protected me."

"Wow, that's incredible." Ashton replied, the awe evident in his face.

"They say those who are possessed with the spirit of those wolves are drawn here." She smiled, "They share those same qualities and loyalty."

With that she stepped past us, rubbing on the nose of the statue. We watched her carefully. She bowed to it, before stepping away.

She laughed, at our expressions, "Ah, don't take me too seriously those were just the musings of an old woman. The boy I spoke to a few days ago gave me the same look when I told him that story."

I didn't have to look at the others to know what they were thinking. "What did he look like?"

She had to think about it for a moment as she ran her fingers along the trinkets and beads around her next. "Dark hair, about the same age as you boys, he seemed kind of sad, but my story seemed to cheer him up."

"Do you know where he is?" I asked, matching her description up to Calum. It had to be him.

"No, sorry." She sighed. "I only talked to him for a few moments."

The three of us let out a frustrated sigh, but the woman didn't seem to take any notice of the three of us. "Well carry on boys." She nodded to us, giving us another wrinkled smile. She walked away, her body showing little sign of the wrinkles that decorated it. I heard her various trinkets click and clack as she walked away.

"Well I guess that would explain the scent then, Cal's definitely been here and talked to that woman." Michael said.

Ashton and I both nodded in agreement. It had to be, the description and Cal's scent. We had to be closer to finding him than ever.

"Was it just me or did she have a scent like a werewolf too?" Ashton frowned. "It was slightly masked though."

I nodded slowly, putting my finger on the strange sense I'd had about her when she first arrived, I'd even suspected it midway through the conversation. But Ashton mentioning it seemed to solidify my suspicions, "Yeah, I think she did."

"What did you think Michael?" Ashton asked.

Though Michael didn't seem to be listening to us now, he was staring up at the statue again. "If only you could talk, then you might be able to tell us where Cal is."

He let out a long sigh, as he approached it rubbing the wolf on the nose, before bowing just as the woman had. "Thanks at least for the clues I guess..."

He turned and looked back at the two of us expectantly, before gesturing back to the wolf.

I frowned at Michael, "Just because the old woman did that, doesn't mean we have to does it?"

Ashton shrugged, stepping forward, "It's a sign of respect, I guess we should do it."

"Exactly." Michael nodded, moving out of Ashton's path.

Ashton stepped forwards, doing the same. He reached up patting the wolf on the nose, before nodding to it. He turned to me.

I stepped forwards, gazing up at the giant wolf for a moment. I reached my hand up, taking a deep breath as my hand met with the cool of the bronze. For a moment I thought I sensed something but then it was gone. I quickly bowed and moved to stand with the others.

"Well, at least we know we're onto something now." Michael grinned, looking over at the two of us. Ashton and I both nodded. This wolf statue had let us know we were in the right place.

"Wait, what are you three doing here?" A high-pitched voice questions.

I freeze, barely making confused glances at the others. Someone knows us, and it doesn't sound at all like Calum.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not too sure what the update schedule is going to be like for this after this week? There is a possibility that I might end up having to go back to updating every two weeks? We'll see how I go...
> 
> Also yay for the new song finally coming out. It's different but I do like it now I've heard it a few times. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! :)


	22. Amend

"Zoe." Michael growls, his eyes glowing with a fierce golden.

I feel almost dizzy for a moment, as all the life drains out of me. I find myself speechless unable to process what the girl was doing here. Ashton looks confused for a moment, but he lets out a small gasp when he realises who she is. He was the only one that hadn't met her, but Michael's words were enough.

The girl steps back from us, a fearful look in her eyes. She looked so much older now, then she had been a few months ago. Perhaps it was just the winged eyeliner? Her hair was neater too. She looked uncertain.

"You stay away from us; don't you think that you've already caused us enough trouble!?" I yell, I was certain for the trembling in my hand that my irises would be glowing with golden. It took everything I had not to go leaping at her, as my feelings re-surfaced. It was pretty much her fault I was a werewolf. If not for Calum, I would've been dead because of her.

She shakes her head, raising her hands in a sign of truce, "Luke, I swear it's not like that. I regret everyday what happened to you and all those other people. Who I was all those months ago, it wasn't me. I was lost and misguided." She sighed, "I'm sorry that you were caught in it."

I backed down a little, she looked genuinely sorry this time, at the very least I didn't think she would hurt me at least not right away. Perhaps she had genuinely changed for the better?

"What changed?" Michael beside me growled, clearly feeling no amount of sympathy towards the girl.

It took her a moment to answer, as Michael and I glared at her expectantly. Ashton, standing between us looked a little lost.

Zoe's eyebrows narrowed as if she was frustrated that she even had to explain herself to Michael anymore after that. "Well I'm part of a pack now, and an Alpha too? After I left your town I ended up here where I met a pack of werewolves that have totally set me out straight." She explained, "I don't need to lash out at the hunters anymore, you were the one that taught me that lesson Luke."

Michael gave me a concerned glance, I don't think he was buying it. Or at least he wanted to leave the decision of how we treated her up to me. He'd tried to help her, and he had been hurt too. His trust in her was no greater than my own.

"I'm glad to hear that." I smiled through my teeth.

Though, perhaps I was happy for her? Last time she had been in a mess. I could just remember her dirt stained light blue hoodie, her wild frizzy hair and sickly pale skin. I could remember that Calum had felt slightly sorry for her, explaining that he understood how she must've felt. Like her he was a natural born, but he'd had the help of his Grandfathers journals and the support of his mother to turn to. Without anyone to turn to, she'd been a mess and had started lashing out at hunters instead. It was a good thing perhaps that she had found other werewolves to help her. I know Michael had tried to help her once, but it hadn't been successful at all.

"Alright now, if you don't mind. We'll be leaving." Michael spoke, pushing on my arm, "Let's go Luke? Ashton?"

Ashton nodded, already turning on his heel. I followed behind him, Michael after.

"But seriously what are you guys doing here?" I hear her question after us.

The three of us turned to face her, she viewed us with a raised eyebrow. I wondered whether we even needed to say anything to her, we didn't owe her an explanation. Yet, a plan began to spring into the back of my mind. If she did have a pack here, then she also had lots of sets of eyes. Some of which, might know something about Calum and his whereabouts. Though were we this desperate to ask Zoe to help us find Calum in time?

_'Maybe we should tell her.'_ I thought to the others.

Michael and Ashton looked at me with stunned expressions. I could understand their confusion, both understood how I must feel about her. Yet, this could be our only chance. I still held a deep grudge against her, but perhaps she had changed? So, we needed to give her this chance. I nodded at Michael, and he shrugged before giving back a small look in agreement.

"Well, you remember Calum, right?" Michael started.

"How could I forget?" She spoke, shooting him a frustrated look, "Hey, the guy threatened me, while protecting Luke over there."

Michael nodded slowly, looking a little awkward. "Well you see he ran off a few weeks ago, and we think he might be around here somewhere. Have you or any of your pack seen him?" Michael questioned, "We need to find him."

There was a pause for a moment and then Zoe smiled, "That I can help you with."

I breathed a sigh of relief, so perhaps I was right that we could get some information from her?

She continued, "In fact, that's who I thought you might be looking for. He's been around and has been looking totally miserable might I add."

All three of our faces lit up. This was an even better lead then we'd expected. She'd even seen him to have a description like that.

"Any idea where he's been living whilst he's been here?" Michael questioned.

"No, I don't sorry. It's not like I've been following him. I just noticed him around." Zoe frowned. "He could be living on the streets or out in the forest for all I know."

I let out a long sigh, I guess pounding the pavement around here was going to be the best idea after all. This still had to be better than what we'd been doing these past few weeks. At least this seemed to prove we were in the right town.

"Oh! I know!" Zoe suddenly yelled, "We're having a gathering of a few of the packs around here tonight. Calum's been around at a few of them."

All three of our heads shot up at that. Was this our chance of finding him?

"Look, I can't promise he'll be there tonight." She frowned, noticing our expressions, "My pack has been worried about him, he doesn't say much when he does come. He just kind of watches the rest of us."

My heart sunk, after what both Zoe and the elderly woman had said it was clear that Calum was still deeply upset. Would he even talk to us if we did find him? There was a possibility that he could just run off again? Somehow, I wasn't expecting a happy reunion.

She grabbed out a small notepad from her pocket and scribbled something down quickly, she passed it towards Michael. "Meet me on the corner of Rose and Gordon streets at exactly six and I'll take you there."

Michael, stunned took the note from her, "Thank you."

She shrugged, "No problem." Her eyes were on me, with her last words, "I owe you one."

Ashton shot concerned looks between Michael and me. None of us were sure of Zoe's motives whether she really was doing this as a favour to me or what.

"Well, in that case I guess I'll see you boys tonight then. Don't worry about dressing up, it's pretty casual so what you have on is fine." Zoe explained.

Michael nodded, "Great. We'll see you then."

With a nod, she quickly turned to the wolf statue herself. Patting on the nose as the old woman had done and gave small bow. It was seeming like a traditional action that you were supposed to do. That must've been what Zoe had been here for. She gave one glance at us before disappearing into the surrounding trees.

There was a collective sigh from the three of us. My fist that I hadn't realised I'd had clenched relaxed. I'd managed to stay calm, but it hadn't been easy, there was faint red marks on my hands that healed quickly.

"Oh, my goodness, Luke. I'm so sorry, what did I do? You said to tell her, but I took it way further. But she was a lead and-" Michael blurted once was gone. He looked at me with a worried expression as he bit his lip.

"Mikey, it's alright. It's fine, what you did was totally okay." I told him gently.

"Huh?" Both Ashton and Michael turned to look at me, they exchanged glances with one another before they stared at me with contempt.

"But after what she did to you-" Ashton spoke quietly.

"Because she thought I was a hunter." I explained not meeting their gaze as I felt their eyes on me, "Look, I still don't like her, but I guess I'm over it now as much as I can be. She seems to have changed too and so have I. Mikey, you didn't have a lot of choice accepting her offer to help us. This may be our only shot at finding him before it's too late."

Michael's mouth formed an 'oh'.

"Besides it's not like I'm dealing with her on my own this time." I shrugged, "And if it means finding Calum, then it's what we need to do."

Michael let out a long sigh and nodded, "You're good though like with her helping us?"

I nodded slowly, "I think so."

"And what do you think Ash?" Michael asked turning his attention to him.

Ashton bit his lip but nodded uncertainly. "I don't like this idea, but it just might work."

"Well I guess that settles it then, I guess our best bet is to trust her." Michael announced.

"Like she's even going to show up though." Ashton said with crossed arms.

"Well if that happens we'll just have to change our plan then." Michael frowned.

"Let's just hope she does then." I agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! :)
> 
> Hmm, thoughts on Zoe's return, do you think she will actually help the boys find Calum or not?


	23. Guts

  
At ten to six, the three of us waited at the corner of the two streets that Zoe had told us to meet her on. Beside me Michael was playing some game on his phone, whereas Ashton was tapping his foot in boredom as he kicked a stone around. I kept my eye out for Zoe, sighing when every person who walked by us that wasn't her. I kept an eye on Michael's phone as the clock clicked over to six. I frowned, she was running late and still hadn't arrived.

It wasn't until five past when my eyes caught on a girl with blue denim jeans and a bubble-gum pink jacket. A look of relief appeared on her face as she saw us. I guess she hadn't ditched us after all.

"Sorry, I'm late." She blushed, looking a little uncomfortable. "I would have told you boys to meet me there, but we don't find out where the location is going to be until a few hours, or even minutes before. I only just received the message."

"That's alright." I nodded.

I was honestly just glad to see that she was pulling through. All three of us had debated the entire afternoon whether she would or not. She wasn't exactly a person any of us could easily trust, especially me.

Michael beside me nodded at her, as he put away his phone. "Lead the way then."

Zoe nods, and gestures for us to follow her. She takes us down a nearby street, we passed a few restaurants that were just starting to open for the night. She seemed much more confident leading the way than she had been talking to us. She walked with her head held high and an aura of calm glowed around her. I guess it was understandable considering the circumstances.

Eventually we came to a row of older style two and three-story brick buildings with metal wired archways and staircases that looked like something that you might see in England or another foreign European country. A tween boy flew by us on a skateboard before running up the stairs into one of the doorways. I heard an angry woman's voice a moment later.

Zoe didn't seem to notice though, and a few doors down she turned into a gap between two of the buildings. We stopped in front of a solid green metal gate. A boy with thick dark brown hair littered with freckles waited and nodded when he saw Zoe. He didn't even blink at the three of us behind her. He simply tapped on the door rhythmically and a small section of the gate swung open. The second it did I could hear the thumping of loud music from behind it. I exchanged stunned glances with the other boys as we followed behind her.

As we walked through the gate, the scent of werewolf became immediately evident. I looked around the heavily foliaged courtyard noticing about thirty or more people in here, all of which I'd assume were werewolves. They were of various ages, some around our age, others much older. I hadn't realised that there were so many people like us around. Yet, if the woman's story was true werewolf packs had lived here for decades. It was probably a meeting point of sorts.

Michael and Ashton seemed to look genuinely stunned, this must be new for them as well. It was hard not to look surprised. Zoe led us through the crowd a look of determination on her face. She came to a stop at a group of girls dressed in bright clothing on the other side. She tapped on the tallest girls' shoulders. When the girl turned I noticed her straight long brunette bangs and hair that fell to her waist. She looked to be a year or two older than us. She viewed Zoe with confusion until her eyes fell on us, she smiled.

"Ah, Zoe nice to see you! Is this them?" The girl questioned, Zoe nodded quickly.

"I'm Kiara, I'm the head Alpha around here," The girl introduced herself, with a warm smile, "It's lovely to meet you boys, Zoe's told me a bit about you all."

I stared for a moment. The head Alpha? Did that mean she was somehow in charge of the other Alpha's around here? She must be rather important. I remembered that Zoe had said that she was the head of a pack now. Perhaps this Kiara girl was the one who had helped her? Another thought bothered me, what had Zoe told her about us?

Ashton simply smiled and nodded at her, though I noticed that Michael's facial expression barely changed as he moved to introduce us. He hesitated slightly as he introduced himself as our Alpha. Sometimes Michael made it seem like he was used to being our Alpha, other times he still seemed uncertain about it.

"Well hopefully Calum will turn up tonight. I'll keep an eye out for you." Kiara said, in a sympathetic tone.

Michael seemed to warm up a little bit at that, "Thanks, that would be great."

"In the meantime, enjoy yourselves. There's music, food and lots of others of our kind." Kiara grinned, "You might as well enjoy it."

"We'll try our best." Michael spoke, shifting awkwardly.

Kiara nods to him, but within moments she had already turned back to the group of girls that she'd been talking to. I hadn't realised that the three of them had stopped talking and were staring at us. Kiara gave them a glare and the girls chatter began again instantly.

Zoe shot them a small glare of her own, before turning to us, "So uh...I kind of have some stuff to do but if I get a chance I'll catch up with you boys later."

"All right then, that's fine. Thank you so much for doing this." Michael nodded.

A moment and a nod later and Zoe had disappeared towards one of the doorways on the edge of the courtyard. The three of us were now alone in a group of werewolves we didn't even know. I don't know what I'd expected, perhaps that we'd show up and find Calum straight away. Like it would be that easy.

"So, what now?" Ashton looked over at the two of us.

"We wait I guess." I say, as I begin to scan the crowd for any sign of Calum, but there didn't seem to be any.

"Just be careful though, I don't trust this place or these people." Michael spoke, his eyes shifting around us.

Ashton and I both turned to him with surprised expressions.

"Look we don't know any of these people." Michael frowned, "The Shadow Wolf or just about anyone intent on hurting us could be any of them. We have to be careful."

I frowned. Michael did have a point though, and a very serious one at that. There was no way that I could argue with Michael's words. It wouldn't take much for someone to poison a drink or slip something into food. If the Shadow Wolf had more than one form; one of them human, they could easily blend into a place like this.

The three of us stuck together as we made our way through the crowd. Around us people danced along to the thumping music and we dodged our way through them. Part of me wanted to join in but I knew our mission was finding Calum not joining in on some werewolf rave. We ended up sitting on a group of seats over to the side of the courtyard. Michael let out a long and frustrated sigh. All we could do was wait.

We sat there like that for quite some time. I rested my chin on my hand and frowned, I quickly grew tiresome of watching people in the crowd. Michael sat with a blank expression, letting out a long yawn. While Ashton tapped his foot impatiently along to the beat of the music. I frowned, checking the time on my phone, it was getting late. If he was coming I would've thought Calum would've been here by now.

It was not long after that when I felt a sharp pain in my skull. I ignored it for a moment, but it quickly grew. I squeezed my eyes shut and frowned. It had been weeks since I'd felt like this. Michael let out a small grunt, and Ashton's head quickly whipped between the two of us.

"Luke? Mikey?" Ashton frowned, "Oh no."

With my fear rising, I glanced over at Michael who had his hands clenched into fists.

"It's here." He spoke through gritted teeth, "It has to be."

The three of us stood up and my eyes searched the crowd, I had no idea where the Shadow Wolf was this time just that it had to be close. My biggest fear was that it would appear amongst all these people. Most of which would be affected by its abilities. I wasn't sure how many werewolves it could take down at once, but I imagined it would be quite a few.

"We have to find it, before it can hurt anyone." Ashton frowned, "Can either of you tell which direction it's in?"

"I can't tell, it's moving too fast." Michael frowned. I nodded, it wasn't like other times where I'd had a general direction. It almost felt like it was all around us. Perhaps it was even playing on our senses.

Then a loud scream echoed through the entire area, even over the top of the music; which cut out a few seconds later. The people that had once been dancing were frozen. People exchanged frightened glances, some already heading towards the gate that we'd entered through. The lights continued to flash giving off a creepier vibe now rather than that of a party. This was echoed by the hammering in my own head from the Shadow Wolf's proximity. Frowning, I searched for any visible signs but couldn't see anything.

People were panicking everywhere around us. The three of us glanced at one another.

"We have to get out of here." Michael frowns, his hand held to his head with his eyebrows narrowed.

The two of us nod, and we begin to assimilate ourselves into the crowd. Suddenly, Ashton freezes. People bump into him and curse. Michael and I turn around, noticing that his eyes are on something. We pull to a stop, as the crowd dissipates around us and we can finally see what he's looking at.

Over in one corner of the courtyard, there weren't people running. Only those rushing to a girls' aid, as she held something limp in her arms. Both are covered in blood and she is crying hysterically. The group gasps and there's hurried whispers. Some begin to cry, others look more shocked than anything else.

I hear someone mention the name Kiara, and as I see them move the objects hair I realise that is who the girl was carrying. Shock rises in my chest, I knew that it was someone, but not her. I was instantly reminded of what had happened with Sam. I'd only been talking to him for a few moments then this had happened. An odd sense of déjà vu.  She seemed important to these werewolves, and the shocked expressions were proof of that. My breath caught, as I realised that it was another Alpha too. It was starting to form a pattern. I hoped that this didn't mean that the Shadow Wolf had already made it to Calum. Were we already too late?

Another group was crowding around something written on the wall. The symbol was there, but underneath were the words.  _'Let this be a warning.'_  As much as I tried to ignore it, I couldn't help but feel as though those words were directed at us more than anyone else in the courtyard.

Michael had grown pale, "Dammit, how long's this going to go on for?" He muttered under his breath, his hand trembling slightly, "How many of us is it going to kill before it's satisfied?"

I shook my head, taking in the groups expressions, "I honestly don't know Mikey."

"Anyway," Ashton frowned, his eyes on the last few people that were leaving out the now wide-open gate, "I think your right, let's go."

The three of us turned, walking back towards the gate. Stupidly, I made one last look back at the group crowding around Kiara. I could see Zoe there too now her face covered with tears.

How could've something like this happened again? If only Michael or I had heard the wolf earlier, then perhaps we might have been able to help. I hadn't seen much, so I'd assume that they must've been away from the crowd for only a moment as it hadn't seemed to attack a large group, as only the other girl had showed signs of confronting it.

As we walked back out onto the streets, I noticed that they were empty except for the few werewolves that were leaving as well. Soon they went off in various directions, leaving just the three of us as we walked back to the car.

"So, are we finding a hotel room for the night, or sleeping in the car?" Ashton questioned, as we walked in silence. No one had seemed to want to talk about what we'd just seen.

"I was going to say sleeping in the car, but now I'm not even sure." Michael frowned. "That thing is still out there."

I frowned I wasn't sure what we were supposed to do either. Even if we found somewhere to sleep, I wasn't even sure I would. The past fifteen minutes had freaked me out too much. No one else seemed to want to continue the conversation or provide an answer, so we resumed our silence.

As we made it to the street we'd parked on, Ashton pulled the car keys from his pockets. The streets lights began to dull and flicker around us. I raised an eyebrow.

Then there was a ferocious howl, the three of us jumped. Then I felt the pain in my skull for what was the second time for the night. I turned around, and my eyes locked on the creature. Its red eyes were the only thing visible. I couldn't help the gasp that escaped my mouth.

Within a second it began bounding towards us. My thoughts race, we could probably make it to the car, but somehow, I thought that wouldn't protect us for long. There was nowhere to run either, and if we weren't careful all we would achieve would be bringing it into a busier part of town.

"I think it followed us." Ashton frowned, biting his lip.

"Let's just distract it first and go from there." Michael explained, his eyes glowing golden and he was already dashing off towards it. A moment later he landed on the ground on all fours as a wolf.

I sucked in a deep breath, if the Shadow Wolf was now after Alpha's we had to protect Michael more than anyone else. Ashton had already left my side and shifted mid-air as he followed Michael. Feeling my skin prickle I took off after them, barely noticing as my form changed from human to wolf. Michael was just reaching the wolf as I caught up to them. He slid underneath it's paws with ease. Ashton headed around in the other direction, the wolf used its paws like fly swatters trying to trap them both. I frowned as I slowed before reaching the wolf, taking in its hulking form.

It was so much like that night at the school dance, we could dodge all we wanted but there was nothing that the three of us could do that would help things. Calum had been the one to turn the tables that night and allowed us to get Lewis out of there. Yet, this time we didn't have Calum, only ourselves.

The wolf's eyes locked on me, and I realised that I had to keep running. I focused on ducking and leaping over its paws as it came thrashing down on me. I frowned, realising we couldn't go on like this for long. I could already feel my body weakening. Perhaps we could all get past it, but then wouldn't it just start following us? I thought of how we had frightened it at the school dance, Calum had done something. I wasn't sure whether it was because he was an Alpha, but it had succeeded in getting the job done.

_'Wait, I know! Calum was an Alpha right? Michael maybe you can scare it like he did?'_ I glance over at them.

Michael nods as he passes me,  _'Good thinking, Luke.'_

I didn't hear anything from him for a while after that, for a second, I thought we'd even lost the bond. I didn't seem to be meeting Michael any more as I circle the wolf. I hoped that meant Michael had a plan.

In the meantime, all it seemed Ashton and I could do was just continue to circling’ and dodging it. Hopefully Michael could work something out before the wolf tried to use its' poison on us. I was positive we were running out of time.

I saw Michael pull to a stop. He let out a loud howl that echoed through the street. The wolf thrashed around as if threatened by the noise. I grinned, it was working. Yet, instead of running away this time, the wolf straightened. Ashton and I pulled to a stop beside one another. We exchanged glances.

I saw the wolfs eyes flicker to a brighter red, and in that moment, I felt all the air sucked from my lungs. I gasped, falling to the ground. I manage to look over at Ashton who was coughing and spluttering. My lungs felt like they were on fire as they desperately gasped for air. I could feel my vision fading. My shift would come undone at any moment I was sure.

A moment later, I saw the wolf raise its paw on Michael bringing it crashing down on him. I heard his howl, and the accompanying shoot of pain through the bond right as it went numb. I saw the blood drip from the wolves' claws. Ashton and I howled, almost in a last burst of air. It was over, it had to be. But I couldn't bear to think that we'd lost him.

Then I heard a loud and strong howl much more powerful than Michael's had been. Gasping for air, I looked in the direction of the noise. Standing there, with crossed arms and eyes glowing golden was Calum. The shadow wolf let out a long painful howl, and I felt some of the air return to my lungs. Yet, as the noise penetrated my ears like a wailing siren. I winced trying to flop my ears over to cover them. I could faintly see Michael moving, and it gave me a small flicker of hope that all that had been worse than it looked. Ashton who was managing to stand frowned at me. But my eyes were solely on Calum now.

"I'm the one you really want, huh?" Calum grinned up at the beast.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who's back! :D
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! ^^


	24. Howl

I couldn't believe it, I let out a small gasp as I blinked a few times unsure if my eyes were deceiving me. This had to be a trick; a vision concocted by the Shadow Wolf's lethal poison. Calum wasn't really, here was he?

I studied him for a moment, his hair was a little bit longer and curlier, but it was him.  It had to be. His hands were clenched as he studied the creature.

It was then that Calum's form seemed to crumple for a moment as he gave a small cough. Fear struck my chest, as I realised that the Shadow Wolf's poison was affecting him too. He shook his head and leapt forward and shifted into a wolf. His form was powerful as he slid right underneath the Shadow Wolf's underbelly. He raised his paw digging his claws into the wolf's tail as he passed. The Shadow Wolf let out a roar, flailing its arms around in confusion. Ashton and I both jumped in unison narrowly avoiding one of them.

A moment later, Calum came flying past us, without a single glance in Ashton or I's direction. He stood in front of the large wolf and howled again as if in warning. The larger wolf let out a loud snarl in return as it raised its paw at him.

Calum didn't blink though, he charged at it again this time digging his claws into the wolf's paws, it let out a yelp. Calum spun backwards landing on his paws. The moment his paws hit the ground, he was off again. He began to circle him, I caught sight of him on the other side moving in a blur of motion. The Shadow Wolf continued to yelp and howl as it tried to stop him, Calum seemed slightly faster as the larger wolf's paws narrowly missed him.

I sucked in a deep breath, as I felt the air return to my lungs. I weakly found my feet, the world spinning as I did so. I looked around us for a path of escape. There were gaps between the parked cars, but there wasn't really a lot of options. I was quickly reminded of another problem. We were much too close to other people to not cause much danger to them if we entered a more populated area.

Calum came to a stop a few meters from me, he seemed to look between Ashton and me. Then back up at the Shadow Wolf. He bounded off again, as the Shadow Wolf continued to howl and yelp.

_'Can you guys do something for me?'_ I hear Calum's voice a moment later,  _'When I say so, we all need to howl.'_

I blinked for a moment, the dizziness in my head mixing with Calum's words. I was slightly stunned at hearing his voice in my head again, it had been so long now. I wasn't sure what the howling would do, but Calum was our best bet of making it out of this alive right now. I let out a quick yelp in response, I heard it echoed through the street.

_'Alright, now.'_ Calum commanded.

I tilted my head towards the sky, letting out the largest and longest howl I could manage and I felt my lungs burn in my chest. I heard my howl echoed by Ashton, and what I assumed and hoped was Michael.

With each howl the Shadow Wolf let out a short sharp howl of its own. If I didn't know any better, I would even say that they were cries of pain. Calum came past, and as he reached me I watched as he dug his paw into the wolfs shadowy flesh once more. He came to a stop a few meters from me. He tilted his head adding to our howls. In a last burst I let out another as my vision began to waver again and my legs were wobbling underneath my weight.

It was only then that I noticed that the Shadow Wolf seemed to shrink, it slowly sized down to a regular sized black werewolf losing its shadow like constancy, it let out a howl before scampering away. Somehow, we had made it shift down to its normal wolf form, I just wished we'd been able to see them in human form, so we might have had a chance at seeing who it was. It did at least prove that the Shadow Wolf had multiple forms.

Now that I could see everyone, I glanced around at the others, exchanging stunned glances. I noticed Michael, still in wolf form; waver slightly, before shifting back. He held his torso, crumpling on the ground in pain. I noticed a hint of blood.

Ashton leapt from beside me, bounding over to him and shifting back as he did so. I followed, full of concern. I barely noticed myself shift back. My thoughts quickly became all about Michael's condition rather than anything else.

"Mikey, are you okay?" Ashton frowned, his hands hovering over the large bleeding gash on Michael's torso as Ashton fell to his knees beside him. The bond was a mess of emotions, Ashton's concern and Michael's feelings of pain and the agony that resulted. I silently wished that there was some way to take away his pain. He'd obviously been holding out whilst Calum had been helping us.

Michael barely looked up at him, managing a small whimper. The bond was so strong in that moment that I felt the sound as if it had coursed through my own body. It took had everything I had not to crumple from it.

It didn't seem to bother Ashton though as he made Michael sit up, allowing a full view of the side and front of his chest. It was bleeding heavily. It seemed his healing abilities still needed time to kick in.

"I-tried to jump, but it got me right in the chest." Michael muttered breathlessly, as he looked over at Ashton.

I frowned. Usually surface wounds like this would heal rather quickly for us, and before we'd even made it over here it should've almost healed. Yet, this time it wasn't. I frowned, knowing that neither Ashton or I were that good at this sort of thing. At least not as much as someone else we knew.

I could still sense Calum watching us. I turned back to him; he stood at afar, having shifted back as well. He looked over at Michael the concern written all over his face, yet he didn't approach. A moment later, he sighed and turn on his heel.

"Calum, wait." I stood up and called, hoping that he would hear me.

Slowly, Calum turned the hesitation evident in his movements. There was a look of reluctance in his eyes as he looked between Ashton and myself. Then his eyes fell on Michael, and he bit his lip as his foot began to turn away again. I thought he was about to leave. My stomach sunk, I knew this wasn't going to work. The time away hadn't changed whatever was bothering him.

"Can you help us?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly with uncertainty.

His entire expression crumpled, and a moment later he had dashed right past me and was by Michael's side. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but I took notice of the look of determination that crossed his face.

"Alright, Ash, have you got anything that we can use as compression?" Calum asked.

"In the car, maybe?" Ashton replied, there was a hint of nervousness in his tone as he glanced at Calum. Calum nodded and a moment later, Ashton stood up and raced towards the car. A moment later he returned with a hoodie in hand and a first aid kit.

"Excellent." Calum smiled, as Ashton passed the items to him.

It was incredible to watch Calum as he took the objects Ashton had given him and turned it into a makeshift bandage using just the jacket. As Michael lifted his head up, although he didn't say anything he shot a particularly stunned look at Calum. It was then that I noticed just how pale Michael was; I guess he'd lost a lot of blood. There were somethings even werewolf healing took a little while to take care of.

"Alright, I guess we should move him now, right?" Ashton asked, looking between Calum and me. "Is there somewhere safe that we can take him while he heals?"

Calum's hesitation seemed to return, he stood up and stepped away from us. Fear evident in his expression, as if Ashton's words were a trigger. Something was bothering him. I just wish I could work out what. I frowned, surely this still wasn't over the whole Georgia thing? This had nothing to do with that, surely? At least I wouldn't have thought it would prevent him from helping Michael.

"I can't." He spoke quietly, no longer meeting our eyes.

I couldn't understand this, why couldn't he do this? Why couldn't he help us? What was stopping him? Not that long ago, he'd been our Alpha, the leader of our pack and our best friend. Why did he suddenly seem to not even be able to stand the sight of us?

"Cal." Michael spoke, his voice weak and slightly out of breath. "Please, whatever this is about you don't have to keep doing this."

Calum looked at him, and neither of them said anything. I wondered if there was an unspoken word between them. Calum bit his lip, as the three of us looked at him expectantly. He wasn't seriously thinking of helping Michael then running off. Was he?

"Look I don't understand what's going on with you right now, but Michael's injured and we have no idea when that Shadow Wolf will be back. Whatever's bothering you about us or about Georgia or whatever. Can you just forget about it for five minutes and help us?" I yelled, the fierceness in my words surprising me, I hadn't realised that I'd grown that frustrated with him. Even Ashton raised an eyebrow at me.

Calum stared at me for a moment, he almost seemed stunned that I'd talked to him like that. If I'd shocked him with my words before, I certainly had now.

"Alright look, since we scared the wolf away, we probably still have a few hours to get off the streets." Calum frowned, my words seeming to bring him back to us, "That should give us enough time to get him back to my place. I'm just not sure how long what we just did will hold though."

"Hopefully it will be long enough." Michael nodded.

"I'm hoping so." Calum agreed. "Let's get you out of here."

With that, Ashton and I took Michael's shoulders, as he used us as support. Michael winced, as we tried to move. It wasn't easy, Michael was trying hard not to let any contact come to the wound and it meant he had to lean on us on a weird angle. I focused my energy onto him, hoping that he would heal soon. Though I still held fears that this wasn't going to be the easiest thing to do.

"You right to make it?" I asked Michael, with a concerned glance.

"I'll be fine." Michael spoke with gritted teeth, "We just need to hurry up."

"Alright, you heard him, where are we headed?" Ashton asked, looking directly at Calum.

"Not far," Calum nodded, "My place is still a few blocks away. Will you be right Mikey?"

Michael waved his hand, "It takes a lot more than that to get the best of me. It's not going to be easy, but I'll do it."

"Good." Calum nodded.

With that the four of us began to amble towards Calum's place. Wherever that was. At least it was a start. Just I wondered for just how long Calum would be around to help us before he ran off again.

 


	25. Want You Back

Calum led us silently through the streets. He said little, giving off the impression that he didn't even want to help us. I think if I hadn't said something and Michael hadn't been hurt then we probably wouldn't have made this much progress. Calum would've helped us scare the Shadow Wolf away and then dashed into the night. Even now, I wasn't sure what he would do.

Ashton and I held Michael up on either side, he was moving slowly, and we had to adjust our pace accordingly. The three of us exchanged nervous glances. I wondered what would happen when we finally made it to the 'safe place' Calum was leading us to. Would we stay there for a few hours and then be sent on our way with barely another word? I frowned, realising how likely it seemed.

Calum paused in front of a hotel building, in golden swirling writing above the door read King's Rest Hotel. As we walked through the sliding door we came to a huge foyer, I gasped as I looked up at the high ceilings where the owner had grown hanging plants along the roof. Bright beams of light shooting through the gaps. The floor was made of marble and pattered with a giant star in the centre of the room. There were quite a few people around, my eyes fell on a small girl with extremely curly hair who was pushing herself along on a ride on suitcase. She grinned and giggled with glee as she rounded the corner escaping her family. Moments later, a woman with matching curly hair flew around the corner dragging the girl back to the seats nearby. The girl frowned, already pushing back off again. I couldn't help but smile.

There was one thing I was thankful for though, that no one appeared to notice Michael's state and the fact that he was barely making it across the floor with only Ashton and I holding him up properly.

With his eyes directed straight in front, Calum led us straight to the elevators, of which we rode up to the seventh floor. He used a key to unlock the room. I gasped realising that this was the room that I had seen in Michael's memory. The bright city lights blinked back through the curtain. I looked around realising that except for a few items of food and some clothes the room was empty of anything personal. The room simply had a bed, a small coffee table with some lounges and a kitchenette. It looked as though Calum had been here for a few minutes rather than a few weeks. That realisation concerned me.

He gestured to the dining table before walking over to the kitchen and starting to make Coffee, which was only made evident by the slight aroma in the air as Calum opened the jar. He didn't look at us or say anything. It was almost like we weren't even there.

Ignoring Calum's behaviour, Ashton and I helped Michael onto one of the sofas; he let out a soft groan but assured us he was healing. His pale expression told otherwise, but I tried to ignore it. Michael was fine, he had to be.

Once we were seated, Ashton cleared his throat as if he was about to say something, his eyes on Calum. Michael sternly shook his head. The two of us viewed him in confusion. I guess we should wait to see what Calum said or did first.

After a few minutes, Calum set four steaming mugs down on the small coffee table in front of us. Wordlessly, he moved beside Michael, carefully removing the jacket bandage from his chest. Michael winced as Calum inspected it. I didn't know a lot, but the wound had only seemed to heal a little. I guess injuries like that from the Shadow Wolf seemed to heal a lot slower than normal.

"Is it healing?" Michael questioned, staring Calum right in the eyes with a fearful expression.

Calum frowned, but nodded, "I think so, it's slow. Should heal up for the most part within a few hours. Might leave a scar for a few weeks though."

"Better than the alternative." Michael muttered darkly, he didn't need to elaborate we all knew what he meant.

Calum didn't say anything to that, he simply frowned before standing up. "We'll just leave it as is for a while, it might heal faster without the jacket on. I'll go down to reception later and see if they have anything in the way of bandages."

Michael nodded, "Thanks, Cal."

Calum blinked at Michael's tone of familiarity. He walked away, seating himself at the spare spot on one of the couches across from Michael. He twirled the spoon in his coffee for a moment before looking up at us, "So, what exactly are the three of you here for? More should I say; how did you find me?"

None of us seemed to know what to say for a moment. I guess we'd been so focused on Michael's injury and Calum's quiet behaviour instead. Where could we even begin with all the things we needed to tell him? Did we tell him about Emily first? Or did we inform him of the danger that Michael and he were in? Or had tonight already been proof enough of that? Did we tell him about Georgia? Or should Michael and I tell him what we'd discovered? He'd missed so much in such a short space of time that it was hard to know where to start.

"Look, there's not really enough time to talk about it," I started, holding his gaze, I decided it wasn't worth beating around the bush about it, "but, you have to come back Calum."

Michael frowns at me, shooting me a soft glare. I don't think that was the sort of thing we were supposed to start with. He nods though, adding, "Yeah, we came all this way, Cal. Luke said it, besides we miss you. You can't stay here forever."

Calum looks slightly stunned, but keeps his lips tightly shut.

"Cal, please come back." Ashton adds, as he nervously swirls his coffee.

He looks down, his eyelids flutter for a moment, "Look, I'm not sure if I can guys, I've hurt all of you, my mum, my sister, Sophie too...."

"For starters Sophie was not your fault." Michael quickly defended, "You were just trying to help her." He looked around us, "Besides last I checked you hadn't hurt any of us either."

Calum bit his lip, still avoiding our gaze. His eyes were on his coffee instead.

I frowned, he needed a bit more of a push it seemed. So, I added, "Plus, we've been talking to your mum, she just wants you to come home, Cal." I added, "I mean, she's even taking care of Pip for us so that we could come and find you."

Calum continued to show little sign of responding for a moment. Was he that far gone about whatever this was over that even talking about his family didn't help?

Suddenly, Calum's head shot up. He looked at me in alarm, "Wait, what do you mean my mum's looking after Pip?"

I blinked. Of course, he wouldn't know. He couldn't possibly have found out from here that something had happened to Emily. Pip had seemed certain she was still alive, and I hoped she was right.

"Well that's the thing that forced us to come and find you." Michael told him, "Yesterday morning, Pip came to us in a state. She claims Emily has been taken. She described the marking like the one we found near Sam, but she seems to still think Emily's alive, so we think the Shadow Wolf might have taken her somewhere."

Calum's face paled, his eyes growing wide as our words finally seemed to be reaching him, "Oh my gosh, is she okay?"

"As Luke said, your mum's taking good care of her while we came to find you." Ashton explained. “She’s putting on a brave face.”

Calum didn't speak for a moment, he stared at the floor. Before kicking the table forward, the mugs rattled slightly. Coffee leaping out the top. The three of us jumped exchanging glances. We'd said the wrong thing too soon.

"I need a minute." He spoke gruffly before moving over towards the window.

I frowned, watching him as he scrunched his hands into fists, air punching them into the ceiling. For a moment I thought he might shift in here. I looked back at Michael who was biting his lip in concern, his eyes trained on Calum. This wasn't even the half of it, but it was obvious that this was enough to set Calum off now. I was afraid what would happen if we told him the rest of it.

I heard Calum take in a sharp intake of breath before he re-joined us at the table. He took a large sip of his coffee and sat there for a moment. I chewed on my lip.

"I left, and it seems things only got worse." Calum sighed, "I'm so sorry guys."

"Uh, well the thing is that's kind of not all." Ashton spoke shooting a nervous glance at Michael and me. I stared at him, he was going to bring that up so soon after Calum's reaction? What was he thinking? However, Michael nodded, knowing very well what Ashton was going to tell him.

Calum frowned, any amount of composure he'd gained in the last few moments was long gone. "That's not all? What else is there?" He demanded.

Ashton glances hesitantly at Michael and me. He takes a deep breath, I'm almost surprised Michael doesn't come out with it, but he seems to be leaving this one to Ashton.

"Pip had a message, along with the symbol." Ashton spoke, "Pip said the Alpha of the Rosetta Park wolf pack was next. So, we think the shadow wolf is either after you or Michael now."

Calum didn't speak for a moment, his hand trembled slightly on the desk, his gaze fell to Michael, "Is that true?"

Michael nodded, "We're not sure who they're referring to but it's one of us."

"It's hard to tell, the shadow wolf turned up again whilst both of us were at the courtyard party and in the street." Calum frowned, talking as if he was thinking out loud. "It might even be looking for us both."

"Wait you were there when the Shadow Wolf turned up at the party?" I questioned, narrowing my eyebrows. I could've sworn that I hadn't seen him at all. I wondered for a moment why I couldn't sense him, but then I remembered he wasn't in our pack anymore and Michael seemed to be the only one who could. If Michael had possibly sensed him, why hadn't he said anything?

Calum bit his lip for a moment, "Uh, yeah. I was hiding from you guys, because I figured you were looking for me. Then I saw what happened with Kiara and decided to follow the three of you back. I didn't expect the wolf to attack the three of you, but it did. Perhaps it knew I was there and was even trying to draw me out in both circumstances."

I nodded, considering the possibility. We still weren't sure whether there was a reason that it would attack one of the other werewolves. Still it begged the question, who was the Shadow Wolf after?

Calum let out a long sigh, "Though if the Shadow Wolf is after Michael or myself there's not a lot we can do about it. If this continues and more werewolves keep dying than we've just got to let it run its course. If it wants us all dead, then so be it."

Michael stood up suddenly, his eyes glowing with a fierce golden. Any visible trace that he'd been feeling unwell was gone, "I can't believe you Calum. It's like I don't even know you anymore." He spoke angrily, his hands trembling as he set down the coffee mug. "That thing is after one of us and here you are being a passive idiot about it. One of us could die and you're throwing your hands up in the air in defeat. I thought we were friends Calum, I gave up everything for you once upon a time. Now you're talking like we're already dead,"

Calum stared at Michael wide eyed for a moment. I noticed Michael opening and closing his palm his claws out almost in sync with his breathing.

"Should we go?" Ashton frowned at me. I nodded slowly, all I could sense through the bond was Michael's anger. He was furious at Calum it seemed, and I didn't want to be stuck in the middle of it. I'd seen the two of them fight or argue before but never like this. I was worried what these two were capable of.

"No, you're both staying for this." Michael growled, his eyes not moving from Calum's. Ashton looked taken aback. I was terrified were they going to fight in this small place? I was worried Michael would try to bring us into this, I hadn't really tried to challenge any direct order of Michael's since he'd became Alpha and I already knew Ashton wouldn't have a choice if Michael wanted him to help.

Calum stared between the three of us, he was speechless.

"Cat got your tongue Calum?" Michael yelled.

Calum glared back at him before standing up to match his height. He let out a low growl, as his eyes flashed golden in warning. "Enough, Michael. You have no idea what I've been through."

Michael rolled his eyes, "Georgia happened and it sucked. She broke your heart. You do realise she'd been through hell too, right? Did you realise that her last boyfriend was a werewolf too and totally mistreated her? It had nothing to do with you Cal."

Calum barely blinked and remained silent. He simply stared Michael down, his eyes shining with golden.

Michael wasn't done yet though, "You know, at first, I could tolerate you leaving the pack and making me Alpha. Like, I thought it was temporary and that you'd come back pretty soon realising that you had to move on with your life. Sure, you haven't exactly had the best luck with girls. But this is us, I thought we were you're pack Cal. I thought we were friends. I guess I was wrong about that huh?"

"Michael you don't understand." Calum barely muttered in a weak voice.

"Oh, I do understand. You're a coward, Cal, and a huge one at that."

"So, this is what you do, huh? You come back and tell me one of us is going to die and expect me to suddenly know what to do? Because look I don't Michael. I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not some miracle worker. What we did tonight isn't going to last, and that thing will be back tomorrow looking for blood. One of us is done Michael whether you like it or not. We're out of luck and time." Calum spoke glaring at Michael. "We can't stop this."

"Oh please." Michael growled. "I didn't think you were one to give up Cal."

Calum's eyebrows narrowed. His entire form trembled, and I noticed the way he began to position his feet as if about to lift off. I frowned, my thoughts racing. What could I do? One look at Michael and his glowing eyes told me it wouldn't be long before he shifted either, particularly if Calum went.

"Whoa, whoa. Stop." Ashton yelled jumping onto the table between the two of them, holding his hands out to both his eyes glowing with golden holding them back. Coffee mugs spilled everywhere, I jumped back to avoid them.

For a moment nothing happened, both were still trembling as if about to shift. I gasped, Ashton had to know what he was doing in there. If either of them shifted he could get badly injured, even if we did heal fast it would be painful.

"Get out the way, Ash." Michael yelled at him, fire in his eyes.

"No." Ashton yelled defiantly. "That's enough from both of you. Would you just look at yourselves, you two are supposed to be friends and now look what your trying to do? Is ripping at each other really going to solve anything?"

"Well we were supposed to be a pack until someone abandoned us." Michael spoke his eyes shooting daggers at Calum.

Calum jaw clenched, his eyes glowing a brighter golden. I frowned this was not working.

"Michael, really? Come on." I yelled, "You know Calum didn't abandon us. Besides Ash's right, we're supposed to be friends this isn't the time for a petty argument over this."

Calum backed down, his claws quickly retracting. Michael's did as well but both their eyes still glowed with a faint golden. Both seemed ready to shift at any moment still. It was an improvement at least.

"Look, let me just say one more thing." Michael yelled.

Ashton bit his lip. He looked to me for help. I wasn't sure if Michael should say anymore, I mean he'd said more than enough. I shrugged at Ashton deciding to leave this up to him.

"Trust me. This is the last thing." Michael spoke, sounding calmer this time.

Ashton slowly lowered his hands, "You promise if I move, you won't try to kill each other."

Michael quickly nodded. Cautiously, Ashton moved back off the table. Calum crossed his arms glaring at Michael.

"All I wanted to say is that over the past few years we've survived everything that the hunters had to throw at us. Now this Shadow Wolf has come along and now the very thing that we feared it would do seems to be coming true, and all you want to do is let it walk all over us." He took in a deep breath, "Do you honestly want to see me like Sam? Or what about Luke? or Ashton?"

I frowned, the image coming to mind quickly. Suddenly I could see it, the hulking shadow wolf above us, eyes glowing a violent scarlet. The three of us were coughing and spluttering as the Shadow Wolf howled continuously. Ashton and Michael were on either side of me, struggling, faces pale. Slowly we began to fall, lifeless. The mark of the Shadow Wolf clearly behind us. Calum stood behind us, coughing and spluttering falling to his knees as well.

"Stop!" Calum yelled fiercely his eyes glowing with a brighter golden again. "Just stop, please."

For a moment I wondered if Michael had been the one who had showed the three of us that. There was no way I could've imagined it that vividly on my own.

"You saw it didn't you? It was awful wasn't it?" Michael yelled at him, almost affirming that.

Calum nodded slowly, I could see the tears forming in his eyelids. What Michael had said and done was cruel, but it had seemed to have some effect on him. "Look, the thing is I can't lose you guys, but I don't know what we're supposed to do."

Michael's expression quickly softened, as he limped to Calum's other side pulling him into a hug with his good side as he let out sobs, "I know, we've missed you."

Calum nodded into his arms, "I've missed you guys too."

They stayed like that for a few moments, neither of them looking as though they were about to shift anymore. I let out a sigh of relief, I was glad to see that their fight was seemingly over. Ashton and I exchanged smiles. It was crazy, but he'd done the right thing.

Suddenly Calum pulled away from Michael, and my heart stopped for a moment. Worried that something was wrong still, his actions reminding me so much of how he'd been back in the street. Michael blinked at him alarmed.

"Look uh, Mikey, do you mind if I'm Alpha again?" Calum spoke quietly.

Michael paused for a moment, staring at Calum in what looked to me like stunned disbelief. I thought that Michael might even say no. It shocked me after Calum's reluctance that he had asked about it so soon.

Michael let out a slow sigh, "You know what, I am honestly not qualified enough for this whole Alpha gig. So, I don't mind giving you all that power back." He grinned, "In fact, how soon can we switch it? We need you back, Cal."

Calum nodded. "Well if you don't mind, then right now. We'll need everyone though this time, because I'm technically not in the pack anymore." Calum bit his lip as his eyes fell on Ashton and me, "That is if you two are fine with me being Alpha again?"

I grinned, "Come on Cal, do you really think we travelled all this way for nothing? Of course, we're fine with it."

Ashton nodded, "Yeah, of course we are." He paused his gaze shifting to Michael as he bit his lip, "Uh, no offense Michael. You have been a pretty good Alpha."

Michael shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips, "I know what you're saying my time is done. This was only temporary after all."

"Alright we need to make a circle, so it might be easier if we all sit on the floor." Calum suggested, after a moment of glancing around the room. He gestured to the large patch of empty space in the room, "If you're uh-right to do that Mikey?"

Michael nodded, "I think so."

With that, the four of formed a circle. Calum sat first and made Michael who was still a little unstable sit beside him. Ashton and I could sit wherever so I found myself wedged between Ashton and Michael a few moments later. Calum took Michael's hand, and Michael took mine, and I had Ashton's hand in my other. Once all four of us were holding hands, I felt a small spark of electricity flow through them. Calum told us to close our eyes, and as I did so I felt the spark of electricity grow through my palms and along my arms.

Michael whispered a few words under his breath, and the energy seemed to move from just my hands and arms to my entire body. I felt something tug at my chest, as my body jerked slightly forwards. I felt a slightly acidic taste in mouth as if I was about to shift. I tried to ignore it as my body trembled, and my head tilted backwards. I felt the sense of a howl rise in my chest, and I opened my mouth hearing it fall into unison with three others.

As the energy left my body, I instantly felt the connection to Calum return as well as with the others. The bond was filled with a strong sense of joy. I'd never felt or sensed an emotion this strong in my life. Perhaps I was imagining it but the bond between the four of us seemed stronger this time. It had to have just been because we were missing someone and because Calum had left us. I wasn't used to the four of us being a pack was probably all. It felt good to have him back.

I opened my eyes, noticing the flecks of golden that danced in each our irises. Calum's was the strongest naturally, the flecks in his irises almost glowing.

"Geez, with howls like that someone's going to think that I have animals in here." Calum grinned.

"Well to be fair, you kind of do." Michael grinned, jabbing him in the side with his elbow, "There is an entire pack of them in here."

Calum rolled his eyes pulling Michael into a hug, I could see the hint of tears on his cheeks, "Geez, I missed you." He looked at Ashton and I beckoning us over, until all four of us were sandwiched into a hug. There were tears everywhere. Calum being Alpha again, seemed to have a strange effect on us.

When the four of us pulled away, I couldn't help but notice that everyone's eyes were still glimmering with golden.

"Geez, lucky we're not going anywhere soon." Ashton spoke, looking into the floor length mirror behind us, "Would you look at that."

The four of us crowded around the mirror. It was a strange sight, but it wasn't as if we could control it. I tried to will it away like I sometimes could, but it didn't seem to work.

Calum looked stunned for a moment, as if he hadn't noticed. He shrugged, "I guess it's just a side effect. Hopefully, it should wear off soon."

"It makes us look pretty cool though. Don't you think?" Michael grinned.

"Lucky we have a treaty with the hunters is all I'm going to say." Ashton shrugged.

It was about then that I felt something vibrate in my pocket, a second later and the upbeat tune of my phones ring tone rang out through the entire room. I frowned, inspecting the caller ID noticing that it wasn't a number I recognised. The number seemed to be from Rosetta Park though. I paused turning away from the mirror to answer it.

I walked towards the other side of the room, I could feel the other eyes watching me. For a moment the person on the other end of the phone didn't speak.

"Luke, I'm so sorry." They started, and I wish that they hadn't. I stood in stunned silence listening to the persons words on the other end of the line. This sort of thing shouldn't upset me, not anymore. Yet it did. The line died, and my hands shook as I let the phone drop to the floor.

"Luke?" Michael questioned, putting his hand on my shoulder. I could only shake my head, unable to find the words I knew I needed to say.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't have all that much to say about this chapter without getting into spoilers, but thank you so much for reading! ^^


	26. Lost

No one said anything for a moment, and if they did I didn't hear them anyway. The heartbeat thumping in my chest louder than any words could make. I couldn't understand why this was making me feel this way? There was no reason to even get upset. I should just shrug my shoulders and not care about it, but for some reason I just couldn't shake the feeling of shock that stung through my entire body.

"Alright Luke, slowly and calmly tell us what that was." Ashton spoke kneeling down as I moved to sit up on the chair.

My hand trembled and I took a deep breath to try and steady it. I knew I had to tell them, it wasn't worth keeping it a secret from them. In situations like this, secrets like this only caused us more trouble.

"It was Mei." I spoke, my words wavering slightly, "My mum, she's gone missing."

Michael shrugged as he raised an eyebrow, "Your problem being? Last I checked we didn't exactly get on with her, sure your mum helped us but-."

"Michael shut up." Calum glared, jabbing him in the shoulder. Michael promptly shut his mouth shooting a glare over at him.

"We have to find her." I say quietly. "I mean Mei described the Shadow Wolves mark to me, it was left hand scribbled on a note on my mother's desk."

Ashton nodded slowly, but the expression on his face was sceptical I think he was just trying to make me feel better. Calum and Michael exchanged glances.

"Look, I can't believe this but I'm with Michael. I thought she hated you Luke? Are you sure looking for her is something you want to do?" Calum frowned, as he placed his hand on mine. His eyes were filled with concern.

I looked away from them, I was quickly realising that none of them could understand this. None of them knew what it was like for me. My mother had once been someone that I'd trusted and loved. Sure, at the time I wished we didn't move around so much but still. Maybe I was crazy after what had happened between us. Yet, especially with Emily missing as well, I was worried this was tied to something much bigger. It wasn't like this many people that were close to us went missing all the time? After seeing what had happened to Kiara too, I didn't want to see this happen to any more people.

"Yes, I know what you're all saying, but she's still my mum. Deep down part of me is always going to care about her, no matter all the awful things she might have done or had a part in. The Shadow Wolves symbol was there, so what if Emily and this is connected even?"

The three of them stare at me blankly, none of them seem to be understanding. Michael bites his lip and the three of them exchange glances. I get the sense their discussing this through the bond without me. The thought frustrates me. Just when I thought we were finally a pack again.

"I'm sorry Luke, but don't you think this is a little suspicious?" Ashton frowned, being the first to speak, "I mean some hunter we barely know and don't trust, rings out of the blue to tell us that your mother's gone missing right after she started looking into Emily's disappearance. Which is the same thing, we're about to do? Besides we saw the Shadow Wolf tonight, there would have to be two of them for that to be possible."

“There still could be two though.” Calum countered, his eyes steady on Ashton’s.

Michael shoots me a concerned look,  _'Yeah Luke, I'm surprised you'd want to? Especially after what we found out? We're still not sure how much input she had in that.'_ His voice rings through the bond a moment later.

I frowned, of all the things we'd talked about we still hadn't brought that up yet. Michael was right, I wasn't sure what role my parents had played in that. The picture in that office had been proof of that, it was too much of a coincidence that Michael and I had been together like that. I frowned at Michael but nodded, "Even after that."

Even without hearing what Michael had said, both Ashton and Calum had seemed to pick up on our use of the bond as I had the three of them. Ashton raised an eyebrow and Calum looked between Michael and I with a frown.

"Alright, Mikey I know that look. What are the two of you hiding?" Calum frowned.

"Nothing." Michael and I said quickly, neither of us daring to exchange glances.

I guess with how long Michael and Calum had known each other I shouldn't be surprised that they knew when the other was lying right in front of them. I simply shrugged, hoping that they wouldn't continue to question us.

"No way. I saw you both look at each other, and Luke seemed to reply to you rather than Calum or me." Ashton frowned, he paused for a moment, "Wait, did you two find out something?"

I sighed, he did know that Michael and I had been hunting for information, so of course he would have worked it out. He wanted answers. Now that Michael and I kind of had some should we tell them? I know we'd promised we would eventually, but was now the right time?

I looked between Calum and Ashton who were both looking at us expectantly. I looked at Michael, perhaps this was the time to tell them. Michael nodded and let out a sigh, "You know it might not even be true. Let's just tell them."

I nodded, though Michael's words didn't stop me from worrying how they might react to this.

"So, Ashton knows about this, but we were trying to work out why we could hear the Shadow Wolf. Suddenly we found more connections between Michael and me then we could even imagine. Without even realising it, we'd stumbled across something major." I started.

"Please tell me that you two don't turn into more of those Shadow Wolves too, one is bad enough." Calum groaned.

Michael and I shook our heads quickly, I was glad that Calum didn't know about the polaroids that had seemed to suggest that. That was still something I wasn't sure about, but that idea seemed to be long buried now. It was possible, but it didn't seem as likely anymore. I think we would've noticed by now if we could turn into one of those Shadow like creatures.

"Well, we're not sure that it has much to do with that..." I looked to Michael for help, "It's hard to explain."

Michael nodded, giving me a half smile. He turned back to face Calum and Ashton whose expressions were rather hard to read. I sensed a mix of confusion and even fear through the bond.

"To put it simply, both of us were experiments." Michael frowned, "The hunters had great hopes for the both of us. It had nothing to do with bloodlines or hunter families either. Luke and I, well we've been different our entire lives without even realising it."

Calum and Ashton simply stared, neither of them speaking. Michael and I looked between the two of them, before exchanging worried glances. Perhaps we shouldn't have told them like this, not with everything else that was happening.

"Okay, what did they do to you both?" Calum spoke slowly, although he was clearly trying to hide the fear that was evident in his voice.

Michael nodded to me, suggesting it was my turn to explain.

"Well, neither of us understand the technical side of it but they somehow gave us what they considered the best abilities of werewolves before we were born. Especially those that would make us faster, quick learners and give us the strength to take down werewolves much easier than your average hunters." I explained, "It seems they were waiting to train me, so that they could see what effects it had. Like whether I could catch up with hunters of my own age once they started training me, like whether I could catch up to people like Michael."

"And that's why they waited some time with me as well." Michael frowns, "We were like weapons to them. They wanted to see what their modifications would affect us. So many had died before us through various complications...but there was another girl who survived."

Ashton narrowed his eyebrows, "Wait, was it Mei?"

Michael and I shot him surprised looks. Calum even looked a little stunned, not that he exactly knew who Mei was since he hadn't been there. Perhaps Michael had even talked about her once when they were growing up. Ashton shrugged, "She's around the same age as us, right? I did see her eyes shine an odd golden colour by the fire. If what you say is true, then it would make sense."

"Yeah, it's Mei." Michael nodded, "She claims she's not a real werewolf, and even her file says so, but she can make her eyes glow golden and I even think she might be stronger than we are."

"It's eerie." I agree.

Michael sighs, "It's a shame we don't know what all this has to do with the Shadow Wolf though. I mean perhaps us being able to hear it is just a side-effect from the experiments. Hey, it might even be possible that the three of us are in some part like that Shadow Wolf too."

"Whoa." Was all Calum said, he stood up and moved away for a moment just shaking his head as he walked towards the window. I frowned, this was the second time he'd done it since we'd walked into this room tonight.

I bit my lip, what did he think of us now? Same with Ashton too. I glanced over at Michael who still sat confidently as if Calum's actions weren't bothering him. Michael's eyes told a different story, he watched Calum carefully seeming to judge his reactions. I looked at Ashton who simply wore a look of concern.

With a long sigh, Calum quickly re-joined us. "Look, I have no idea what any of this stuff with the Shadow Wolf has to do with the two of you. Why you can hear it or the possibility that you two and Mei could be this way. Yet, if that's what the hunters did to you guys at least it makes sense why the hunters have fought so hard to get you guys to come back to them though." Calum frowned, "They must've had so much riding on you both."

Michael and I both nodded, everything that had happened a few months ago finally was starting to make so much sense. They wouldn't want to kill something they'd worked so hard to create especially when they'd lost so many before us. We were the keys to something that they wished to understand. Yet, now we had strayed so far away from them.

"So, I wonder if that makes you both a little like natural borns then? I mean if they gave you those skills you must've had some werewolf like abilities growing up perhaps without even realising it?" Ashton frowned.

I glanced at Michael. I wasn't sure if it meant much, but I'd always been a fast runner even before I'd met them. I wouldn't have said I was strong, but I was a fast learner when I set my mind to it. When Michael had been teaching me some of the hunter techniques that had seemed to have been proof of that. Michael had been the best hunter of his age though, that on its own seemed to suggest a lot.

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean I was their golden child when I was a hunter because I was literally the best at almost everything." Michael frowned. "I guess now I know why. Whoever did this to us was probably cheering, well until I left the hunters and became a werewolf but anyway."

Michael looked sideways at me, as if stuck at what else to tell them.

"Oh yeah, and we found out that Michael and I had met as kids." I added, "In the room that the files were in, there was a photograph from when we're about four or five with a few other kids as well. One of them was Mei as well we think."

"Wait a second, you two met as kids?" Calum raised an eyebrow.

Michael nodded, "Yup, I think even before I met you Cal. It's strange though, I can't remember any of it."

"Me either." I agreed.

Ashton sighs, looking frustrated. "So that's great and all but what do we do about it? It's clearly important to something, but what?"

"You know, now I think of it maybe the Shadow Wolf is something created by the hunters." Calum frowned. "It would make sense then if you could both hear it and after what the hunters did to you both anything is possible. Perhaps this Mei might know."

"Well we defiantly don't trust her, so I don't think that's a good idea." Ashton glared. "She threatened Luke when she thought none of us were watching."

"I see." Calum frowned, "We'll need to find out some other way. Perhaps there's a file on it somewhere in the hunters' collections? I mean considering they seem to have just about everything else."

"I'm not sure how we'd get back in there though, we'd have to get back to Rosetta Park first." Michael frowned, "Someone might have closed the room we found the files in back up by now, we can't even ask Luke's mum to try and let us in."

Calum tapped his finger on the coffee table. "Mikey are there any other hunter bases nearby, do you remember?"

Michael shook his head, "No, not that I know of, the one just out of Rosetta Park was the only one for at least a couple of hours. There was one out west and down south in the city but we're still miles away from either of those, getting to Rosetta Park would be the quickest. There's a training camp that must be about an hour's north of here, I went to a couple of camps there growing up, but I don't think we'd find much there. If I could even remember how to get there that is."

Calum frowned. "I guess that's a dead end then. Besides I think your right, I don't think we'd find much there anyway."

The four of us sat in silence, every idea was coming to a halt.

"So now what?" Ashton frowned, "Do we need to start finding scents or looking for clues? How do we expect to find both Emily and Luke's mum without crossing paths with the Shadow Wolf until we're ready?"

"I don't think we'll ever be ready." Calum spoke, a dark cloud quickly filling the room.

I bit my lip, unsure of Calum’s next few words. Michael shot Calum an icy glare, and Ashton gasped.

"What I’m say is what we did tonight will eventually start to lose its power over time, so we need to make sure we don't drag this out longer than it needs to be. There's only so many times that howling and surrounding that wolf will turn it back to its wolf form." Calum continued.

"Cal..." Michael said in a warning tone as he glared at him.

"I'm not saying we should give up." Calum said, "I'm just saying we need to do this quickly, we can't waste our time. I've wasted more than enough by running away like I did."

Michael's glare relaxed. I was thankful, I didn't want to see a repeat of their fight from earlier.

"But, I think it will have something to do with whoever is controlling it. If we can find out that, I think we can at least find the Shadow Wolf and hopefully Emily and Luke's mum." Calum explained. "I've been doing some research while I've been here. A shadow wolf needs another wolf controlling it or to be in a pack with other werewolves whether they're like it or not. It will follow their actions loyally. It would be perfect for someone who wants to get back at us or just at werewolves or hunters in general."

"So, kind of like an Alpha?" Michael questions.

"Exactly." Calum nods. "It may not seem like it, but the Shadow Wolf is like a beta, but I guess they have a stronger bond to their Alpha than normal werewolves do."

"Do you think a group of Shadow Wolves could form a pack then?" Ashton asked. “Assuming that there could be more than one?”

Calum nodded, with a grim expression, "Probably."

"So, there could be more than one person or a whole group of people behind this?" I frowned. This was a lot worse than I thought. How did we find my mother, Emily and keep both Michael and Calum safe? While also trying to work out the identity of the Shadow Wolf or Wolves if there was more than one. There could also be another person in the mix for all we knew.

Calum nods again, "That's exactly what I'm saying."

The four of us exchanged glances, we might have Calum back now. Yet it didn't make our lives any less dangerous like we’d anticipated. All I could hope was that we'd be able to solve this mess soon before anyone was hurt. But after what Calum had said, even I was starting to doubt that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! ^^


	27. Pool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting this chapter done has been one big misadventure, so I apoligise for the delay! Enjoy!

I stared up at the ceiling and let out a long sigh. The light from the city outside filtered through the gaps in the curtains reflecting into the room. Outside I could faintly hear the traffic continuing to whir and beep continuously. People walk past the hotel room, making hurried shushing noises and giggles as they pass. I hear one of the other guys snoring loudly and bury myself in my pillows to block the noise. I let out a small frustrated yelp. Supernatural hearing was great until you were worried about something and trying to sleep.

If the noise around me was loud, my thoughts were even louder. I couldn't shake the image of the Shadow Wolves red eyes from my mind every time my eyes closed, it was almost as if it was watching me every time I did so.

Talking about my mother's disappearance and the experiments had brought forward a whole other stream of thoughts. I thought I had been getting over it, especially having talked it over with the others, but I guess I was wrong.

I looked around noticing that the other boys looked to be asleep around me, Michael lie up on the bed. Which he had commandeered after Calum decided that he could have it. It was unanimous that he should have it when he still seemed to be healing. Ashton was asleep on the mattress near my feet, whilst Calum lay beside me.

I'm not sure how Calum managed it, but within a few minutes of deciding we could stay here. We'd had mattresses brought to the room. I guess because he'd stayed here so long the people running the hotel now knew him and were happy to oblige. The man who'd brought them gave us questionable glances, but when Calum explained that he'd talked to the reception desk and the rest of the hotel was full the man hadn't seemed to question us any further about the circumstances.

I rolled over, the mattresses were comfortable at least. It was just a shame that I couldn't seem to sleep. I let out a small groan, I knew I had a lot on my mind right now, but this was just ridiculous.

_'Can't sleep?'_ Calum questioned through the bond. I glanced over at him as his wide eyes watched me from the other mattress. Perhaps I hadn't been the only one awake like I had thought.

_'Yeah,'_  I answered back.

_'Me either.'_ Calum frowned,  _'Want to go for a walk?'_

I nodded slowly, and within a moment Calum was already headed for the door. I chased behind him, as we made it out into the corridor.

The corridor was vacant and silent. When Calum closed the door it seemed obnoxiously loud, as the sound vibrated right through the corridor.

I silently hoped that we didn't wake Michael or Ashton up. Yet a quick sense of the bond told me both were still fast asleep. I frowned, realising I hadn't been able to tell things like that as easy before.

The lights automatically came on along the corridor as the two of us walked towards the elevator in relative silence. It was kind of surreal being around Calum again after such a long time apart. I'd had no idea how much I'd missed him, and the way he could understand things with so little words.

The two of us took the elevator up to the top floor. I gasped as I looked up at the night sky; the moon not quite full yet, gleamed back at us. It's light reflecting on the pale blue of the pool area before it, with a rock wall on one side with water streaming down. Despite the smog, the stars shone brightly above. Calum walked ahead and opened the pool gate for the two of us.

"I've been coming up here whenever I need to think." Calum explained, shooting me a nervous glance.

"I can totally see why." I nodded.

There was a group of chairs set up on a deck beside the pool. Calum walked towards them, and I followed him. He grabbed two chairs dragged them right up to the edge where there was a glass railing that looked over the city below. He bit his lip, looking a little nervous still.

I nodded to him gratefully claiming one of the seats as my own.

The two of us sat in silence for a while at that point. Each of us lost to our own thoughts. I tried to focus my mind on the moon and the stars, but I could only think of how much had changed in the last forty-eight hours. I wouldn't have even thought I'd be anywhere near Calum again or that he would be back in our pack. I hadn't known about the experiments or Michael and I's mysterious past. That both my mother and Emily were both seemingly missing, the sign of the Shadow Wolf the only clear evidence as to where they could be. Everything was changing again, and this time I wasn't sure I wanted it to.

"So, let me guess, you're having trouble sleeping because of your mum, right?" Calum questioned with a sigh.

I blinked at him for a moment, before nodding, "That and everything else that's been happening."

"Yeah, I could tell." Calum nodded, though he wasn't looking at me, he was looking up at the stars. "It's weird how strong this bond's been since I re-joined the pack. It was almost like I could hear what you were thinking without you even mentioning it."

"You mean you could tell that?" I stared at him, mortified. I was worried what else he could tell.

Calum nodded slowly. "Yeah, not word for word but I had a general idea you know, I could tell you were thinking about your mum and I just put two and two together."

I frowned, unsure if I liked knowing that he could do that. Perhaps it was only strong thoughts that he could sense. Yet I knew he wasn't the only one who had noticed. I'd been able to tell that Ashton and Michael were still asleep, something I'd never been able to do mentally before tonight. I'd been able to sense where they were perhaps if the bond wasn't down but usually not much more than that.

"I still don't know what I want to do about it though." I frowned, trying to push down the awkward feeling that rose in my chest, "Like I feel like I should help her but at the same time I have no idea if she knew what was done to me. Like if she was responsible for any of this should I just leave her to the wolves? Perhaps she deserves it, I don't owe her anything after she abandoned me."

"It's understandable, I mean hey, she raised you." Calum said in a calm voice.

"I know." I nodded. "That's exactly the problem."

"Your also more than whatever those experiments did to you, whether your mum was involved or not." Calum spoke, "I know that's what's bothering you, Mikey too."

"But just who am I with all of this? Maybe I'm not even a real werewolf or whatever." I protest.

"You're who you've always been Luke." Calum said, with a serious expression, "Who you were a month ago, even way before all of this. None of this changes that. I know that you're a real werewolf and you're still the same guy I met in the middle of that clearing that I risked myself and my pack for."

"But what if we're Shadow Wolves, Cal?" I told him, "That note-"

"What note?" Calum raised an eyebrow, as he glared at me sharply in confusion.

I bit my lip, I'd been too frightened to talk about it earlier and neither Ashton or Michael had brought it up. So, he couldn’t know. I quickly explained to him about the polaroids.

"I honestly don't think either of you is a Shadow Wolf." Calum answered, he let out a long sigh "Look, even if on the far-off chance you guys are, then we'll cross that road when we come to it. It's not important right now, there's enough other things that we need to worry about first."

"You sure?"

Calum nodded, "Positive. Even without your sense, I can sense the darkness in it just by being near it. I don’t think it’s like any of us, especially not either of you. I mean, if anything I can sense the good in the two of you more than anything.”

"Funny Ash said basically the same thing." I told him.

"I'm telling you I can sense it." Calum smiled smugly, "Ash must be able to as well. I think that proves my point though, huh?"

"I guess so." I half smiled at him, though I couldn't stop the doubt the rested in my stomach. The thought of those polaroids was still deeply rooted in the back of my mind. I just wish I knew who had left them and what they were supposed to mean.

"Seriously though going back to this whole sense thing...” Calum frowned, his eyes up on the sky, “I’m starting to think after what you guys told me that it's possible that part of me all along has been able to sense that you and Mikey had some connection to werewolves too." Calum frowned, "Perhaps that's why Mikey and I made friends in primary school even before we knew about any of this. Like maybe it's something we're able to sense in each other even before we were full werewolves. Even that could explain you Luke, I had no reason to turn you as I thought you were a hunter. Yet, I just knew I had to save you, because perhaps you were already a part of our pack."

I shot my head up, shooting Calum a confused glance. "What do you mean?"

"You were different Luke the same way I felt when I first met Michael. The same sense I had right after Ash was turned. The feeling I get when I'm around any werewolf; a connection really. I was confused because you smelt of hunter, but it was there. I just didn't realise it until tonight."

"Maybe I knew too, Cal." I spoke silently, I remembered although I had been mad at Calum for being so rude to me. His friends had intrigued me, was it possible I already knew? That part of me was already or needed to join their pack. Perhaps Calum was onto something here, something much bigger than any of us.

Had things been the same way with Finn too? Had we both unwittingly known about the other the same way it was possible we all had. I know I'd joked about it, that wouldn't my parents have loved to know that more than one of friends growing up had ended up as a werewolf too.

"So, what's bothering you then, Cal?" I questioned, deciding to shift the focus over to him. If he wanted to know why I was having trouble sleeping, I think I had every right to ask him why he was too.

Calum let out a long sigh, "Well, it's just so unreal, the three of you being back here. I keep thinking if I blink for just a second the three of you will be gone and I'll be back on my own again."

"Why didn't you come back?" I asked silently, "You knew where we were, you didn't have to be alone."

"I honestly thought I was protecting you guys by leaving." He spoke quietly. "There's a lot more to it than I can explain to anyone."

"Then what is it then, why did you leave to protect us? What from?" I spoke attempting to keep my voice level.

Calum let out a long sigh, "Look this probably isn't the best time to talk about it Luke. All I can say is Georgia wasn't the only reason I left, it was the last push I needed though."

I frowned at him, why did he keep dodging. If he was protecting us from something I'd like to know what it was.

"When I have it figured it out I'll let you know." He spoke cryptically, " Look to be fair when I left I knew you and Michael were hiding something from me, and it's the same deal here. I respected that. You've got to understand me Luke."

I frowned, he did have a point there. I knew we didn't want the others to know until we were sure of what was going on ourselves.

"Alright but you promise you'll tell us when you have it figured it out?" I frowned.

Calum nodded, "Of course. I will. Just for now this is something I need to figure out for myself before I tell the rest of you the wrong thing."

The wrong thing? What was Calum saying. What could require this much mystery. I frowned, it couldn't possibly be worse than Michael and I's past could it?

I chewed on my words for a moment, wanting to question him more. Yet, I knew I shouldn't. He was right, if he knew about Michael and me hiding something and didn't ask then I guess I should give him the same respect.

"Alright, alright enough moping. So, what do you say we go for a swim before we head back?" He questioned with a grin.

I looked down at my clothes. Wishing I'd at least brought swimmers or something resembling them. I mean, jeans and an old t-shirt weren't going to do much good in the water. I'd barely packed anything, so my clothing options were limited.

"Oh, come on those are fine, they'll dry out." Calum grinned, he let out a long sigh, "Come on Luke, it'll be fun."

I frowned this was all totally like something Michael would make me do. I nodded sceptically as Calum began to walk over towards the water. He dived in without hesitation, when he resurfaced he treaded water to stay afloat grinning at me.

"Come on!" He yelled, "Please?"

I raised an eyebrow, sceptical but a moment later I too dove into the water beside him, feeling the bubbles stream around my feet. It felt weird diving into the water with proper clothes on, they suddenly felt remarkably heavy, their weight trying to pull me back into the water.

I popped up beside Calum who smiled. "See it isn't that bad?"

I splashed a face full of water towards him, before diving underneath. I could faintly hear Calum yelling from the surface. I blinked a few times, opening my eyes underneath for a moment. I expected them to sting like they usually did, but I could seemingly see properly beneath it.

I noticed Calum dive under the water a few meters away, he spun around facing me. I could see his eyes shimmering with golden. He waved over to me.

_'You hadn't tried this yet, huh?'_ He smiled.

_'No. I hadn't.'_ I replied, slightly in awe, as I started to head back towards the surface as I felt the pressing need for air in my lungs. Being able to see under the water didn't make you better at holding your breath under it, I guess.

I emerged from the water, taking a deep breath. A moment later and I felt the wave of water crash over the back of my head. I turned around to find Calum grinning at me. The water rocking around him.

It was mess there for a moment, the two of us engaging in an all-out splash war.

"Oi!" A booming male's voice yelled, bringing us both to a splashy halt. The two of us stopped, poking our heads over the edge of the pool. I could see a man dressed in a suit and tie, with what looked to be a communication device frowning down at the two of us.

We treaded water for a moment. I gulped nervously. Through the bond, Calum seemed remarkably calm.

"I've told you before, Sir. The pool closes at 11pm." The man grumbled looking between Calum and me. "That goes for your friends too."

Both of us exchanged glances, grinning. There was something mischievous about disobeying the laws of the pool.

"Of course, sir, Sorry." Calum nodded, quickly sobering up, "We'll be out of here right away."

Calum was already climbing back out on the ladder, sopping wet. I followed behind him. The man was watching us angrily. I was sopping wet, but I couldn't help but grin. It was nice to forget, even if just for a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^


	28. Clue

With a yawn, I tiptoed around the others sleeping forms as like a moth drawn to light I moved over towards the window. The sun was just rising over the surrounding buildings. My eyes fell to the city below where people hurried along, whilst others waited for a bus just outside. I let out a long sigh, it was odd, but this reminded me so much of when I had lived here that summer.

Every morning, I'd find myself awake early and look out the apartment window and watch a few people down below as they hurried to get out of the growing heat. My mum usually busied herself in a desk over her work. I can remember that it was my first experience of being an 'only child' and I was used to having at least one brother to argue with. The silence had been unnatural to me.

Part of me yearned for that sort of oddly peaceful moment again. Yet I knew it would never happen. Although I was back here, nothing was what it had been back then. My life had been a lie, perhaps even more so than I’d once thought. I couldn't help but want to see the good in my mother, the way that I had once seen her back then before any of this. I let out a long sigh.

"Morning Luke." A voice spoke, I turned to find Ashton standing beside me, beside me.

"Oh, hey." I spoke slightly startled by his presence as I straightened on the window frame.

"Hmm...why are all these clothes wet?" Ashton frowned, gesturing to Calum and I's damp clothes from last night that were hanging along the windows ledge. We'd put them there last night so that they might dry by the morning, I guess that they hadn't.

"Uh, Cal and I kind of went for a swim..." I spoke, not meeting his gaze.

"Oh, I see... Uh, look you know about last night..." Ashton frowned. "I meant what I said."

I viewed him suspiciously, "What that my mum going missing was suspicious, and that going looking for her is still a terrible idea? I know Ash. You don't need to remind me."

"No, what I'm meaning is, I think we should do it." Ashton nodded at me. "This is important to you, I get it. We just need to convince the others."

I stared at him blankly for a moment, vaguely remembering him mentioning that we should.

"What do we need to be convinced about?" Calum questioned with a raised eyebrow as he appeared from behind us.

"Going to find Luke's mum, we should do it." Ashton repeated to him.

"We talked last night." Calum nodded to me, "and I think so too."

Ashton nodded, "Well in that case I was thinking that perhaps we'd be best to start at Emily's, as it would only take us an hour or so to get there. There might be some scents or clues back there that would help us."

"Yeah, perhaps that might be a start." I agreed, it was the only clue we had right now after what Pip had told us.

"Alright but Mikey's still asleep." Calum frowned, turning back for a moment to Michael's sleeping form, he let out a sigh, "We'll make a plan when he wakes up. In the meantime, I think there's something I should do first."

Ashton and I exchanged confused glances, as Calum moves over to a small bag of items on the other side of the room. He pulls out a small item, pulling out a cord and charger before plugging into the wall. I notice the screen on the object come to life and I come to the realisation that it's his phone.

It buzzes for a few moments, and Calum frowns at it. Before he sucks in a deep breath and begins dialling the numbers hurriedly. I hear the dial tones as Calum puts the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" I hear the voice on the other end of the line question.

"Hey mum." Calum says, a small smile on his face. I blink stunned, I guess it made sense that he would call her but what was so important about it?

"Oh, my goodness, Cal! Are you okay? Did the boys find you yet? Are you coming home soon? Where are you?" Calum's mum speaks in a rush, seeming to realise who was on the other end of the phone.

"The guys found me, we're okay mum." Calum replied with a smile, "Look I'm sorry if I worried you. I know I shouldn't have run off like that."

"It's okay. All that matters to me is that you're fine." Calum's mum responds.

Calum's hand seems to waver on his phone slightly, "Look while I'd love to talk, can you do me a favour?"

"I guess so? What is it Cal?" She asks in a serious tone.

"Look I need to speak to Pip, can you put her on the phone for me?" Calum says.

"Yeah of course. She just got up, I'll put her on." She replied.

There was silence for a moment on the line, a crackle and then a few moments later a more juvenile female voice was on the other end of the line.

"Hello? Cal?" She asked.

"Look Pip, we don't have much time and I want you to try something for me. It might help us find Emily." Calum told her.

"Okay." I hear her reply; the nerves clear in her tone.

"I want you to close your eyes and concentrate on Emily. Think about what you know about her, the bond anything you can. The first day you met? Whatever, it will help."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment, and concern seemed to grow on Calum's face. I exchanged glances with Ashton who looked to be intently listening. I focused my hearing back to the phone.

"I see something." Pip speaks quietly after the long silence.

"Yes, good. What can you see? Can you describe it to me?" Calum spoke.

"Uh, there's a room? The building looks like it's made of timber. There's metal everywhere though, on the windows, and it seems to separate everything into two sides."

"Good, good. What else can you see?"

"I see something else there, but I can't make it out. A person perhaps or a body I'm not sure. It feels wrong though. I hear footsteps, I think someone's coming..."

The voice on the line goes dead, and I can hear small shallow breaths on the other end of the line. I worry for a moment that Calum has pushed her too far, but this doesn't seem to be evident on Calum's expression.

"Anything else?" Calum prompts.

"Cal, I think that's all I've got, it like I got pushed out of there." Pip sighed, her voice showing signs of exhaustion.

"No, that's plenty thanks Pip." Calum told her, "Look after yourself and be good for my mum okay?"

"Promise." She replies, "Also she makes great Chocolate chip cookies, she taught me to make them and when you come home you're going to have to try some and-."

"We will, I'm sure they'll be great. You better keep practicing on them for us, okay? We'll all be back as soon as we can."

"Promise?" Pip questions.

Calum hesitates for a moment, his words caught in his throat, he nods but replies, "Promise."

"Good. Do you want me to put your mum back on?"

"That would be great. Thanks. " Calum nods, "Bye Pip."

There’s silence once more, and I can hear Pip call out. A moment later and it becomes obvious that Calum’s mother is back on the line.

"How's she been?" Calum asks, his tone changing immediately.

"Not too bad, she's been upset over Emily still. Both Mali and I have been trying to distract her." His mother speaks, “I’ll admit it hasn’t been the easiest.”

Calum was silent for a moment. I frowned, I felt a little guilty hearing that.

"Thanks mum, I really appreciate all of your help, Mali’s too." He nods.

"Not a problem." His mum replies, "I have to go now, but stay safe and I love you."

"I love you too." He told her with a nod, before they hung up.

He sat there for a moment, he sucked in a deep breath. His eyes looked slightly watery, but he narrowed them in determination before he started rustling through his bag again, producing a large map and opening onto the floor in front of him. He examined it for a moment, chewing on a pen from his bag before he gestured for Ashton and me to move beside him.

I stared over the map, it was detailed enough that it showed, where we were but also way back down to Rosetta Park. It also stretched up the coast.

"You got something out of that?" I asked him.

"Maybe?" Calum frowned, barely looking up at me as he continued to examine the map. "I'm just trying to figure this out."

Calum's pen hovered over the piece of paper for a moment.

"I still think this all has something to do with the Shadow Wolf. So, for starters let's mark out where we've seen the Shadow Wolf." Calum spoke, looking at both Ashton and me.

"Easy, the school, in the forest where Finn took me and near your place." I spoke. Calum nodded before he quickly marked each of the spots roughly with a cross.

"Since we've been here, the party and the street that it attacked us near the car." Ashton added.

Calum did the same for those two places. He frowned for a moment before marking Emily's place. "Is there something that these places have in common?"

I frowned thinking of how Finn had seemingly predicted in that notebook of his where the Shadow Wolf was going to show up, and that's exactly where it did. Was it possible that there was either a connection or a way to link up this?

"I guess, at least one of us has been at all those places with exception of Emily's?" Ashton shrugged, "Other than that there's not really a lot to go on."

"True." Calum frowned. "There has to be something else though. What are we missing in all of this?"

I heard a loud yawn, I turned just as Michael stumbled over to us. "What's going on? What's all the noise for?"

"Morning sleepy head." Calum grinned over at him. "We're having a little meeting, I thought we'd let you sleep."

Michael nodded slowly, as his eyes trailed down along the map his eyes widened.

"Whoa, why do I feel like I missed something important?" Michael groans.

Calum shrugged, "It's not much, just trying to work this out."

"What are all the crosses for?" Michael frowns.

"Places we've seen the Shadow Wolf." I tell him.

Michael nods, running his finger along each of the points and the spaces connected between them.

"They make a triangle." Michael spoke.

"A triangle?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Well look the three points in Rosetta Park make a triangle." He led his finger between them. When we continued to stare at him, he took the pen from Calum and drew it out its own.

"It's a coincidence, it has to be." Ashton spoke.

Yet Michael shook his head, "Then see, Emily's place, here and Rosetta Park also make a triangle. Not a regular shaped one but still a triangle."

"Well what are you saying then?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I would say our search area is in here." Michael grinned, "between the points."

I stared at the map for a few moments noticing what Michael meant as he began to draw it out. There was still a large area though, with at least five or six towns and a lot of forest in between them. Would we be able to work anything else from that?

"So, you think we should just start by searching all these towns?" Ashton frowned, biting his lip.

Michael nodded, "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"We're running out of time though; do you think we'll have enough time to search all of them?" Calum frowned.

Michael sighed, "Well what other option have we got?"

"True." Calum frowned. "Ash what do you think?"

"It's going to take us ages to search those places right perhaps we're better to head to Emily's and work from there?" Ashton suggested.

"We'd be wasting time Ash." Michael frowns.

"Better than running through towns, not even knowing if we're in the right spot." Ashton frowns.

"Okay guys, enough. Looks like you've got the deciding vote Luke." Calum turns to me. "Do you think we should head back to Emily's or search the towns like Michael suggested?"

I took a deep breath, as the entire groups eyes were on me. I hadn’t meant to be so quiet during the conversation, but it made me nervous that this was all seemingly coming down to me.

"I think they're both good ideas." I sighed, "Maybe we could search both somehow like by splitting up?"

"We are not splitting up." Michael retorted quickly, "Last time we did that we all nearly got killed."

"Michael's right Luke." Calum frowned, "But I think I'm with you. They are both good places to search but if we want to stick together we need to decide on one or the other."

"Well all I'm trying to say is that if we search Emily's first, then we can probably move onto the others. If you think this is all in this area it shouldn't take us long if we don't find anything." Ashton suggests.

I exchange glances with Calum, who bites his lip but nods, "Yeah, good idea. Let's try it."

I nod too, right now it seemed like the better plan out the two. It shouldn't take us too long to check out Emily's place and at least we knew that there might be at least something there.

"I guess I don't have a lot of choice then?" Michael sighs.

**************

After everyone had some food, and we packed up all our gear. We checked out of the hotel and headed down back to the car. Ashton was climbing into the driver's seat and I was just climbing up into the back seat of the car beside Michael, when I noticed Calum had frozen solid his hand on the side of the car door. He let out a gasp.

"Wait, I know exactly what I need to do. Luke come with me?" Calum questioned, right before Ashton could start the ignition.

"Where are we going?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow. I also couldn't help but wonder why me?

Calum marched out the car, he turned back only once to check that I was following. I looked back at Michael and Ashton who both shrugged. I frowned as I found myself chasing after him. I soon noticed the park on the horizon, and before I knew it we were back standing in front of the wolf sculpture.

"Okay, like I know this sculpture is important, but Cal but what are we doing back here?" I frowned at him.

Calum didn't seem to be listening, his eyes were golden now, his nails forming into claws as he places his hand on the wolf's nose. I looked around making sure that no one else was around.

"Trust me on this one," Calum spoke as he pulled away. "When I first came here, I saw something when I first stood in front of this statue."

"Like?" I asked him, as he turned back around to face me.

"I think it was trying to show me a clue perhaps? I'm not sure what this thing is, but it wants to help us." Calum frowned. "It showed me a place."

"Why wouldn't have Michael seen it?" I questioned, deciding not to question why he'd brought me.

"I'm not sure, but at the end of the day even without you guys I'm still a natural born and a true Alpha." He nodded, "Perhaps that's all there is to it?"

Calum let out a sharp gasp and suddenly, I saw something in my head, an image I guess. I wasn't sure where it was coming from, but I was in a room. The light flickered above, it's light bouncing off the metal bars. My senses were on high alert as we were suddenly out in the middle of a forest, the only sign of life were trees and the cabins hidden within them. I spun as the wind picked up whirring trees and leaves everywhere. Then my eyes met with a large dark black furred and red-eyed wolf. My mouth ran dry as I was brought back to reality. I took a deep breath almost falling on Calum, who wavered looking just as stunned.

"You saw it too Luke?" He questioned.

I nodded slowly. Everything had been so confusing for a moment there. I hadn't expected to see anything, but I guess I had.

"So, what was that place anyway?" I asked him.

"Where I think we should start looking." Calum nodded. "I think if we go to Emily's like we're planning to it would be a waste of time. Wherever this place is we need to start there, it's like what Pip described to me and now this."

"So where do you think this was anyway?" I asked, as we begun to walk in hurried movements.

"To be honest I'm still not that certain." He frowned, "But I'm starting to think Mikey's going to know."

"Why Mikey?" I questioned, trying to keep pace with him.

Calum didn't answer me after that, and within a few minutes we were back at the car. Michael and Ashton were both sat in the car, Michael looked as though he was playing a game on his phone, but Ashton's face lit up as we approached.

"Alright you two done? Can we quit wasting time and go now?" Ashton grumbled from the front seat.

"In a sec." Calum spoke, "Mikey does this place look familiar to you?"

There was silence for a moment, and I realised that Calum must've been showing Michael what we'd seen.

"It's an old hunter camping ground? I used to go there for a lot of years for training?" Michael frowned, "What's this got to do with anything?"

"It's where we're heading next." Calum explained.

"What happened to Emily's?" Ashton frowned.

Calum quickly shook his head, "No, I think this is where we need to go."

"If you think so." Michael replied sceptically. "Give me the map and I'll work out how we get there."

With the course planned, with a shrug Ashton stated the ignition bringing the car to life. I climbed onto the back seat beside Michael, as Calum took care of the map from the front seat. I gasped realising that the camping ground did indeed fall within Michael's area perhaps he was onto something after all.

As the car started, I watched out the window for a little while, as King's Bay disappeared away from us. My stomach fluttered with nervousness, what would we find when we made it to the campsite anyway. What if it was a dead-end waste of our time? What if we came across the unthinkable? Ever since they'd worked out the location no one had seemed to have any objections, so I guess I couldn't argue with Calum's logic.

I drummed my fingers along the edge of the car window. I heard a small slight groan from beside me, I might have even missed it if he wasn't sitting right next to me. I turned my head to Michael whose eyes were down on his side. I let out a sharp gasp as my eyes fell on the dark red stain on Michael's t-shirt. I sniffed the air, recognising the scent of blood.

_'Mikey, your wound? Hasn't it healed yet?'_  I thought over to him.

Michael jumped in the air, he barely met my eyes as he grabbed his jacket from the ground beside him and covered the stain up on his shirt with it.

_'Of course, it has, what are you talking about?'_

_'Mikey, please don't lie to me.'_

His eyes shifted to the front seat of the car. There, Calum was looking out the window and Ashton had his eyes focused on the road. Evidently, I was the only one who had heard Michael's groan.

He let out a sigh as he slowly lifted the side of his shirt, revealing the skin underneath. I couldn't help but notice the long and sharp bleeding claw marks that ran along his torso. I frowned it looked as though he had barely healed since last night? I knew werewolves still needed time to heal, but it should at least look like it was healing shouldn't it? Then why wasn't he healing?

With a nervous expression, Michael quickly covered back up the wound. Blinking over at me, as he bit his lip. My mind clicked over, was there any way to check whether he was healing or not? I bit my lip as I leant across the seat and struck a claw into his exposed arm.

_'OUCH! Luke!?'_ He growled at me, jumping backwards onto the other window of the car _, 'What the hell?'_

As expected a faint bleeding mark appeared for a moment in the place that I'd scratched him. It took a moment, but the line began to merge together forming back into freshly healed skin. I stared at him for a moment. It wasn’t as though he wasn’t healing. Yet it seemed that whatever the mark the Shadow Wolves claws had left were the real problem. I frowned, but why?

He exchanged glances with me, his hand running along the place that I'd just scratched him, there was a look of shock in his eyes. The same look I was sure I shared.

"Hey, are you two right back there?" Calum frowned, finally turning around to face the two of us. I frowned, had he seen any of that or picked up what we were thinking from the bond. I honestly hoped not. We had a lot more to deal with then Michael not healing.

Michael and I quickly nodded, not even daring to look one another in the eyes.

_'Please don't say anything to them.'_ Michael's voice rung through the bond,  _'I don't want them to worry.'_

_'Maybe we should?'_

_'Luke no, if I'm not healing properly it's my own problem. I'll be fine, it'll probably just take a couple of days extra is all."_

I frowned, not liking the doubt in his words. Yet, I knew I needed to respect Michael and his wishes. If he didn't think we should tell the others, then we shouldn't. I just hope it's the right choice. I looked over at the map that Calum had sat in his lap and sighed, this was going to be a long car trip and perhaps not a successful one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. ^^


	29. Forget What You Saw

As the car flew along the stretch of highway, I couldn't help but keep looking over at Michael. The coppery scent of blood was growing stronger the further we drove. The smell so strong that I was surprised that neither Ashton or Calum had said anything.

Each time I looked over Michael would shoot me a glare and I'd return to looking out the window. Which wasn't much better, thick dark storm clouds were building over to one of side of the road. Slowly surrounding us. Soon thick splatters of rain began to tumble down the car windows. I hear the cars wipers switch to full speed just as Ashton turns off the highway.

We wind along a roadway for some time and we become surrounded by thick foliage and bushy green trees. The road becomes more treacherous, as we bump and thump our way along through the pot holes and uneven gravel. I find myself grabbing for the grab bar on the ceiling, pushing down the sickening feeling in my throat.

"You sure this is the way, Mikey?" Calum turns back to us with a concerned expression.

Michael nods, "Yeah, forgot to warn you. Sorry."

I guess we were going the right way after all. Though Michael couldn't have been out for years, it was amazing that no one had re-tarred this road in such a long amount of time. I wasn't sure whether it had more to do with the weather or the road itself, but it was a mess.

I settled back down into my seat, one hand still tightly gripping onto the grab bar with pale white knuckles. I tried to embrace the jolt of the car, but honestly, I just hoped that we'd make it there soon. I focused my eyes back outside the window instead.

That was when I saw a dark shape, obviously out of place from the shrubbery around it. It seemed to move quickly towards the car and the road. I let out a gasp, my breath catching as I tried to yell out.

"Ash look out!" Calum yelled, his eyes were wide as his hands hovered towards the steering wheel as if he was about to grab it from him.

Ashton let out a sharp gasp, his hands moving wildly as the car began to bounce and slide vigorously across the road. The green trees whirred around us as the car spun in a full rotation. The four of us let out screams and yells as the car jerked to one side before coming to a stop.

There was a collective silence from the four of us. 

I stared at the seat in front of me, stunned. What had that been? 

Surely it was just an animal. Yet, why would it run directly in front of us like that? I looked around the car, pressing my hand up to the rain splattered window and look out into the misty fog. Everything was as it had been, the forest was empty and silent. Whatever had jumped in front of the car was long gone.

"What the heck was that?" Michael yelled.

No one replied to him for a moment, Ashton was still trembling and pale, his hands shaking on the steering wheel with his eyes directly in front of him. Calum looked genuinely stunned as he seemed to shake his head in disbelief.

After a few more moment of silence, the four of us stumbled out of the car into the pouring rain. Michael winced quietly as he landed beside me. I exchanged a glance with him once more, but he shrugged me off looking in the other direction.

We looked around the car's surface and I noted that there were no visible signs of damage to the car itself. My eyes led to the forest next, as I'd observed earlier it seemed whatever had jumped in front of the car was long gone. 

Calum sniffed the air, as he walked across the roadway. He scowled as he stopped on the other side of the road.

He frowned, "The scent starts and ends here, I can't identify what it was either."

I sniffed the air as well, but all I could smell was the scent of rusted metal, forest and something strange that I couldn't put my finger on. Calum was right it didn't smell of human, werewolf or any other animal I recognized.

Michael shrugged, "Perhaps we imagined it?"

Calum shook his head, letting out a frustrated sigh, "You don't imagine things like that. Especially not four of us at once."

Ashton and I both nodded in agreement.

"You right to keep driving?" Calum questioned Ashton with a concerned expression, his hands were still trembling slightly in shock.

Ashton started to nod slowly, before he cracked an uneasy smile, "Maybe it's best if you take over for a while?"

"Okay." Calum nodded.

Michael looked down the roadway, "It's not much further anyway, we shouldn't be too far from the entrance now."

Calum nodded, taking the keys from Ashton and moving into the drivers' seat. Calum seemed to drive more cautiously across the road bumps than Ashton had previously. I couldn't help but wonder if he was just being more cautious after what had happened, or he was just a more careful driver that Ashton. I was lulled into a sense of security as the car continued to move through the trees.

I caught sight of a group of wooden log buildings at the end of the roadway covered in moss and winding vines all over them. There was a gate that one half lie broken on the ground beside it. I frowned, was this the place? It looked as though nobody had been here for years, which would probably explain the road leading up to it.

Calum bit his lip as he brought the car to a stop in front of the broken gate. He killed the ignition and was out the car in instant. Ashton glanced over at him in alarm. Calum turned back to us, seeming to question why none of us were coming. I followed Michael and we met with Ashton and Calum in front of the bonnet of the car. I heard the distinctive click as the car locked behind us.

"I guess they don't use this place anymore." Michael frowned, as he walked towards the broken gate, examining it with a curious glance. "It was usually well kept when I used to come here."

Calum walks forwards letting out a long sigh, "Perhaps this is the wrong place, it looks sort of different."

Michael turned back to him, "I know what I saw Cal, this was the place."

"Should we take a look anyway, you know, just in case?" I asked them, biting my lip. I could see what Calum meant. It looked sort of like what we had seen but not right. I wasn't sure whether it was just the state of disrepair the place was in or whether we weren't in the right place, but something felt off. 

"Perhaps." Calum nodded looking uncertain. Michael did as well, wearing a similar expression.

Everyone's attention turned to Ashton who was silently studying the gate as Michael had been. He looked up at the four of us in alarm.

"Huh? Oh, I mean I guess so? I mean as long as we stick together." Ashton nodded. I knew quickly that the incident driving here had spooked him way more than he was letting on. Besides I was with him, I didn't want to be alone or separate from any of the other guys in a place like this.

"Lead the way then, Mikey, I guess?" Calum shrugged turning to him.

Michael nodded, "Follow me, then."

The three of us followed Michael, as he leads us inside the campground, we walked along the awning of the larger building at the front of the grounds. Like all the buildings here it was made of the same wood timber, and the strong scent from the materials lingered in the air. Michael scrubbed on the grimy glass doorway, peeking inside "This used to be the hall, they'd also set it up with tables for meals."

The three of us looked inside, sure enough there was tables in their laying abandoned, a thin layer of dust seemed to encompass all of them. If we needed further proof that no one had been here for a while than this was it. Michael started pulling on the doorway to get it open.

"Werewolf proof, huh?" He chucked to himself before gesturing to the rest of us to follow him. We exchanged wary glances but followed him as he led us further into the grounds.

We walked through dozens of buildings, through numerous unkept sites and cabins. Michael narrating the whole thing. It was clear that although he'd only visited the site a few times the place held a lot of memories for him.

Even as I listened I couldn't help but keep watch, nervous that whatever we'd seen earlier would return and we'd find out what if there was something it was after. 

"Hmm, I don't remember this being here?" Michael frowned pausing at a wooden trapdoor on the side of one of the buildings.

He leant down grabbing the metal handle, it let out a creek as he lifted it. I had expected it to be a struggle, but he opened it with ease. The four of us crowded around the opening, which seemed to lead down a staircase into darkness.

"Alright, I'm going in." Michael nodded. "You guys stay up here, someone should keep watch."

"No way! Are you crazy?" I shook my head quickly, I knew that this was the sort of thing we'd come here to do but not alone. Besides I knew he was still injured and who knew what was down there.

"Yeah, I don't know Mikey, you sure you don't want one of us to come?" Calum agreed, biting his lip.

"I'll be careful." He shrugged, already taking the first step on the staircase, "It's not like there's anyone here anyway."

Calum, Ashton and I exchanged sceptical glances.

"It's alright I'll come in with you." Ashton nods, "Cal, hold my phone, I don't want to lose it down there." He frowns passing the object to him.

Calum raised an eyebrow as he took Ashton's phone in hand. Michael shot Ashton a glare but shrugged. The two of them creaked down the rickety staircase. I was thankful for the bond because I could sense that they were both still down there.

There was silence for a while, I listened carefully only hearing the occasional creak from below. Calum sat himself on a nearby rock and I joined him. Neither of us spoke. It had been about five minutes when I started to grow worried.

"Do you think they're okay down there?" I frowned.

"I hope so." Calum nodded, "I thought they'd be back up here by now."

That was when Ashton's phone began to buzz and chime violently in Calum's hand. The two of us exchanged glances. It was on the wrong angle to read but the screen lit up and Calum looked over it carefully. Calum paled, hiding the screen from my view.

He flew up from the rock a moment later and stopped just in front of the hatch, "Ash? Mikey?" He called into the tunnel, a hint of nerves evident in his tone, "I think you guys need to come back up right now."

There was silence for a moment, and I moved from the rock to stand with Calum. We both sucked in a deep breath at the silence. My heart skipped, had something happened?

"Alright, we'll be up in a minute." I heard Michael reply.

My shoulders relaxed, as did Calum's but he still looked pale and nervous.

A few moments later and I heard familiar footsteps growing closer, and the two of them emerged with a few dusty books in hand. I couldn't help but notice the distinct silvery cobweb in Michael's fading red hair. I attempted to stifle a fit of laughter, as he frowned at me. I gestured to his hair, and he pulled a face as he put his hand up to it finding the cobwebs and attempting to pull them off.

"What are those?" I questioned, gesturing to the books.

"The only thing down there." Michael frowned, as he pulled the last of the cobwebs from his hair. "They looked useful though, so I thought we should bring them up with us."

Calum let out a small throat cough, as if to draw the attention back to himself. Our three eyes fell over to him.

"Uh, so, ah, Ash you should probably see this," Calum frowned, gesturing to Ashton's phone, "It's kind of why I called you guys back up here."

Ashton's face fell, as Calum put the screen of the phone directly facing him. His eyes grew wide as he read over the phone's screen.

"Wait? What? No?" He exclaimed as he stared down at it.

A moment later, and he'd dumped his pile of books in my hands and had snatched the phone from Calum. He was rapidly dialling up a number. My heart beat quickened, what was going on?

The person's voice on the other end of the phone was so quiet that I barely heard them answer. 

"What's going on? Why isn't he answering his phone? Did he not come home last night? How long's he been missing?" Ashton was quickly bombarding them with questions before they could speak much more as he moved away from us.

My stomach sunk, there was only a few people that I knew that Ashton could get this worried about. I exchanged worried glances with Michael, as Calum watched Ashton's phone call stoic faced.

The person didn't move to answer, I could only hear light sobbing on the other end of the phone. Ashton bit his lip as he paced around the area, "It's alright mum. I'm sorry. But you need to stay calm okay? Just slowly tell me what's going on?"

Ashton was silent for a moment and I strained my hearing to hear what was being said on the other end of the line, but it was muffled by the sobbing.

"Look, he's probably just stayed over at one of his friends' places and the battery died on his phone? Did you try calling them?"

The other end of the line was silent.

"You already did? Hmm, what about Lauren? Did she know where he might have gone?"

I heard a muffled reply, and Ashton frown grew.

"They had a fight and Harry took off on his bike? Okay. It's not like they haven't fought before." Ashton sighed, "Look, if that's the case then did you ring the police? Maybe ask the neighbours if they saw anything?"

I heard a few more words this time, something about waiting twenty-four hours and something about him not running away. My worry grew, this was sounding serious.

"Look, I don't think so mum. I'm sure he'll turn up." Ashton sighed.

The person muttered something in agreement.

"Okay then, keep me updated. I'll talk to you later, bye." Ashton nodded.

Ashton was quiet for a moment as he slipped the phone back into his pocket before turning back to us, he gestured towards the books and I passed them back over to him.

"So, has Harry gone missing?" I spoke quietly, unsure whether it was too soon to ask such a question.

Ashton nods slowly, "It sure sounds like it."

"You don't think this is all connected, do you?" Michael questioned in a quiet voice, looking uncertain.

"I hope not." Ashton frowned, shaking his head.

Calum was quiet in all of this, just staring off into the distance.

"My mum, Emily and now possibly Harry? Where does this end?" I sighed under my breath.

"Don't say it Luke," Ashton frowned, sucking in a deep breath, "It just can't have happened again, and not to him. He's just a kid, he can't get caught up in something like this. He's just at some friends place surely."

"Let's hope so." I nodded at him, shooting a sympathetic glance.

I hadn't thought of how harsh my words might have come across. Only last night it had been me in his position, and as much as I was beginning to think that I did care for my mother a lot more than I thought. This was a million times worse for him. This was his brother, it wasn't hard to erase the memory of how he'd reacted when Lauren hadn't turned up for the walk home from school that day. I couldn't help but think that something like that had happened again. Especially when it wasn't as if his family was immune from being targeted by other werewolves. I was even starting to get the feeling that someone, quite possibly related to the Shadow Wolf was targeting people close to us. But if so then for what purpose?

"Let's head back to the car, I can't do this anymore. At least not right now." Ashton frowned.

The three of us nodded in understanding. We began to walk back in the direction of the gate and the car. We'd barely made it back to the gate when I became acutely aware of something following behind us.

"What might I find a pack of werewolves doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" An angry female voice spoke.

A shiver went up my spine as I turned to see a girl standing behind us. She wore a crimson red hood, and as she lifted it, I saw the thick scars running down her face. My mouth ran dry. Last I saw of her had been when we'd been chased by the hunters. I tried not to think of that day too much, especially what I had done to protect myself. The one time I had truly lost control.

"Could be asking you the same thing, hunter." Calum glared, turning to her.

"I live out here, there's a difference." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, you might want them to do some repair jobs, this place has really gone downhill in the last few years." Michael spoke gesturing around us at the overgrown and disrepair state of the buildings.

"Ah, Michael." She grinned, "The famous traitorous hunter. The one that threw everything away for a dumb wolf."

Calum let out a small growl, Ashton and I grew closer to him. She was still a hunter, and we had a treaty with them, one that we still didn't intend to break. Still treaty or not I didn't trust this girl at all.

"Mikayla, right?" Michael questioned walking closer towards her, his expression unchanging, "Came second to me in archery back in the eleven-year old's, right?"

"Yes."

"Also, famous for being the one that attacked me in the middle of a store a few months ago." I glared at her narrowing my eyebrows.

Three sets of eyes were suddenly on me in stunned confusion. I guess neither Ashton or Calum had exactly met Mikayla when I'd crossed paths with her in the shopping complex.  Michael had probably seen her when we were caught by the hunters but that was the only time and he didn't know which hunter that had been. 

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Michael glared, "You always liked torturing the other kids. I distinctly remember you trying to peg rocks at me when we were younger. I shouldn't imagine that you'd do anything different to werewolves."

"Hmm? Well, did he ever tell you what he did to me, that day?" Mikayla glared around at us. "Your friend over there isn't exactly innocent either."

My stomach sunk, I hated that we were still lingering on it. I couldn't shake the memory of how angry Calum had been that day. Michael had been the only thing that had stopped him from taking everything that had been happening at the time out on me.

"In fact, he did, and I'm pretty sure if he hadn't done that. Then both of you would be dead." Calum growled. "Now if you'll excuse us, we'll be back on our way."

With a nod, the four of us spun around and began walking in the opposite direction.

"Wait." She spoke, her voice cracking through the air, causing the four of us to stop. "What are you here for anyway, really?"

"Passing through, I was telling them about this place. Hunter summer camps were always the best, right Mikayla?" Michael smirked.

"They sure were." She agreed.

"Shame this place is such a mess now." Michael sighed, kicking at the gate, "I guess there hasn't been one out here for some time."

Mikayla's foot crushed on the gate causing it to stop under her foot. "Is a shame isn't it? In fact, they sent me up here to look into bringing It back."

"Ah, I see. Well good luck with that." Michael smirked, before turning away. "Let's go everyone."

Michael walked directly past us, barely giving her another thought. Thinking nothing more of it, I followed behind him with Calum and Ashton in tow.

"Oh, and Michael, you really might want to get that wound checked out." She spoke again, her voice cutting through the silence. "Could get infected like that."

I gasped, and Michael blinked. Both Ashton and Calum's eyes were on him instantly. I could see the blood stain growing once more from underneath his shirt. Michael swore letting out a low growl. His eyes glimmered with golden as he turned back to her.

"Michael, it's not worth it." I spoke, quietly. Calum put his hand on Michael's shoulder.

"Let's get out of here." Calum spoke, his eyes boring into Mikayla's as he guided Michael back towards the direction of the car.

The four of us broke into a run as we dashed back to the car. I refused to look back at Mikayla.  Yet I couldn't help but wonder how she'd known about Michael's wound, before Ashton or Calum had or why it had started bleeding so badly again so quickly.  Perhaps it was just a hunter thing that they were good at noticing things, but I was doubtful. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! ^^


	30. Run Down This Street

The car was in silence. Calum didn't move to start the ignition and through the mirror I could still see Mikayla watching us like hawk. It was almost as though she was making sure that we left. I couldn't help but find her position suspicious. What was she doing out here?

Was it possible she might even follow us? Though I knew if we had to take her in a fight we wouldn't exactly come out of it better off. Especially not with Michael in this state. It also wasn't worth putting our treaty with the hunters in jeopardy because of something so trivial. Even if she did try to antagonise us, we needed to stay out of it.

"I'm never listening to you again, Cal." Michael growled from beside me, pulling my attention back inside the car, "Going in there was a bad idea, look now Mikayla even knows that we took those books."

"Excuse me, but you're the one who never said anything about your wound not healing? Besides wasn't it Ashton's or your idea to bring those books up with you in the first place?" Calum growled back, "Don't blame me."

"But-" Michael started.

"Guys, guys enough." I raised my hands between the two of them as they glared at one another from their respective positions. "So, this was mostly a dead end? So, Michael hasn't healed yet? Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere."

Both glowered at me, before turning away with arms crossed and angry eyes. I let out a frustrated sigh. Just when I finally thought we were working as a pack again.

Ashton nodded, "Luke's right guys. We all knew this wasn’t going to be that easy. Still, I think we need to investigate this place a little further than we just did. I mean don't you guys think it was suspicious that Mikayla showed up like that?"

"True." Calum nodded.

I glanced out through the front window, noticing that Mikayla still hadn't moved. Surely if she was watching us she would've moved to somewhere a little less obvious by now. Ashton was right, why had she appeared like that. What reason did someone have to have a hunter stationed out here in what was seemingly the middle of nowhere.

"Look, I know none of us are up for it now. Me especially. Yet, I think we should come back here when it gets dark and do another check." Ashton said.

Uncertainty grew in my stomach. Was that the best idea right now? The three of us exchanged glances. Michael pulled a face, and Calum bit his lip.

"Don't you think it would be kind of dangerous for us to be here in the dark?" I frowned. "Besides we don't have much time for a second look."

Both Calum and Michael nodded quickly.

Michael gestured to the map, “There’s still heaps more places we can probably search. I think this one’s a dead lead Ash.”

Ashton frowned, "Well, yeah, but I was thinking with Mikayla here, and this being what Cal saw that perhaps we were in the right spot after all. It seems silly to search somewhere else when this could be right where we need to look "

“True.” Calum nodded, gaining him stunned looks from both Michael and myself.

He let out a long sigh, looking back out the window, “This is the place I saw, which means we needed to come here for a reason. I think I’m with Ash, it’s worth taking a second look before we move onto those other places.”

“But Cal, we’re running out of time. Who knows when the Shadow Wolf might catch up with us?” I frowned.

Michael nodded, “One of us is next Cal. We’re running out of time.”

“I know, dammit.” Calum growled. “But wouldn’t we be wasting more time if we found that we should’ve searched here properly all along.”

Michael and myself were silent at that. I bit my lip, we were running out of time. That I was completely certain of. Yet, perhaps both Calum and Ashton were right.

Michael frowned but let out a long sigh a moment later, "Whatever, it can't be that bad, there used to be an entire camp out here. We used to all sneak out at night all the time."

"Exactly. Well first I think we should get out of here, for now. According to the map there's a town nearby. We'll hang around near there for the afternoon and hopefully that will get that hunter to stop watching us." Calum frowned.

“Sounds like a plan then.” Michael nodded.

***************

Calum managed to find us a room in an old motel room back in town. I frowned as the car pulled up to it. It was immediately apparent that it was a massive step down from the one back in King's Bay. It was dated and felt almost like the kind of old motel you might see in a horror movie. Perhaps I'd just seen one too many of them, but I couldn't help but imagine the worst.

Yet it was the only one around for miles, and the only one that we could get a room in on such short notice. We could've found a place in a few various campgrounds but we all agreed that perhaps making a camp in these circumstances wasn't the best idea. At least there was more people around, walls and based on previous occurrences less chance of the Shadow Wolf turning up.

Once we were settled, Ashton and I had headed out to the store to get some supplies, leaving Michael and Calum back in the motel room. Since he'd learnt of Michael's injury not healing it appeared Calum didn't want to let Michael out of his sight. Mikayla's words were reasonable, and Calum had seemed to take them as he'd added a long list of medical supplies to the list that he’d handed to us.

Ashton was quiet for most of the car trip, he said little his eyes on the road right up until we pulled into the supermarkets carpark. I tried to sense his emotions through the bond but felt nothing. He was shutting me out and I knew it. It was uncharacteristic of him, and that’s what bothered me most.

He killed the ignition and let out a long sigh, looking in the other direction. I heard a loud wracked sob as his body shook. I blinked stunned for a moment as they continued. Then I felt it, as if the flood gates had opened. I felt everything, all his fear, anguish and sadness in a wave of emotion. I frowned, he’d been hiding it hadn’t he?

I chewed on my lip, trying not to let his emotions mix with my own. Yet, I could feel the stinging wateriness of my own tears, as everything I was holding back came to the surface.

“Ash,” I spoke quietly, though my throat choked up from the tears.

Ashton turned around, his eyes swollen and red. His eyes widened, as he bit his lip. Letting out a small sniffle.

"Aw, geez. I'm sorry Luke." Ashton spoke sympathetically in a choked voice as, he wiped the tears from his eyes. "I didn’t mean to make you cry. It’s just with nothing to think about but the road, I-”

I nod at him, wiping the tears from my own. “It’s okay.” I speak quietly, meeting his gaze. “I understand, I’d been holding it back too.”

He nods, his eyes still tinged with tears, his body still trembling slightly. As he turned away from me. We remained there for a few moments. I sucked in a deep breath to stop the tears as I grabbed some tissues from the front console. I noticed Ashton do the same a few moments later.

Neither of us spoke, and there was no need to. We both knew what the problem was and there was no clear way to solve this. Nothing words or a hug could fix anyway.

"We'll find out what happened." Ashton spoke quietly, dabbing his eyes with the tissue, "I know we will.”

***********

Ashton and I finally made it inside the supermarket and bought the needed supplies. When we returned to the motel, we found Calum and Michael reading the books that we had brought back from the campground. Both were seemingly silent, and Ashton and I couldn't help but exchange nervous glances.

"Well I now know 101 ways that a werewolf could disguise themselves." Calum sighed closing the book he was reading, "Yet none of those ways were helpful and seemed like they were written in the 80's, I mean come on who wears shoulder pads or bright fluorescent colours anymore?"

We all burst out laughing as he gestured to a page with a drawing of some peak eighties fashion. Did werewolves truly disguise themselves like that? I’d thought it was just the fashion of the time but perhaps they did?

"I don't know, my books pretty interesting." Michael sighed, "Basically lots of re-written fairy-tale like stories with references to what terrible creatures' werewolves are. So basically, the usual hunter literature. Pretty sure I was read a few of these as a kid. Some sound familiar."

To prove his point, he showed us a drawing that looked as though it was Little Red Riding Hood, but she was drawn as a fierce hunter, and the wolf looked even more menacing than he’d looked in children’s books I’d read as a kid. Even the part where the wolf wore the grandmother’s clothes to disguise themselves had been illustrated with a demented half-wolf, half-human looking creature sitting in the bed. I pulled a face, as Michael promptly shut the book.

"Well as you can see, I really don't think any of these are too helpful." Calum admitted, throwing his book onto the small pile between them.

"That's too bad." Ashton sighed, "Anyway they were worth the look I suppose. I mean you never know right?"

With that Ashton switched on the aged television. I was honestly surprised that it had even turned on. I took a seat on the chair on one side of the room and watched it aimlessly. Ashton sat on the bed, doing the same. I tried to concentrate on the movie, it looked like an old action movie from the ninety's. I frowned, not exactly the kind of thing I felt like watching right now.

My eyes fell on a brown leather-bound rectangular object on the floor, a book I think that had slipped under the bed. I frowned reaching over for it, I guess Michael and Calum had read through all of them, but I was curious to see what they were like for myself. I took the aged pages in my hand and begun to flick through it. It seemed to be more handwritten than the others. More like a journal of sorts.

I looked around, Calum was now in the kitchen area shuffling through the shopping bags for food. Michael was already fast asleep on the couch and Ashton was now on his phone. Everyone else had something to do it seemed. I headed outside onto the porch and decided to continue it, expecting to find another hunter twisted version of the truth. Within a few words it became apparent that it was far from it.

_I am not like them._

_I know that none of them can know about this or I'll be dead by sunrise. They could never understand, even so I'm not sure I do either._

_It started a few years ago when I woke up, finding the glowing golden eyes of my enemy staring me right in the face. Yet, I realised it was myself behind the mask._

_Frightened, I sought help from the place I would've once least expected to find it. Find help there I did, as well as solace and perhaps my meaning. Far from the realms of the possibilities of my friends, I learned and trained hoping to understand what had seemingly changed me, no bite or other full moon shenanigans I had been taught about growing up. Somehow this was all my doing, be it blood or otherwise._

_Yet still, I pretend to play their game, coming here is indeed part of that. It's difficult to learn to fight against your very being. I'd hate to think what these people who I surround myself with at present would think or do if they knew. My friends would only see the monster that they've been taught to believe in._

_Right now, my only strategy for surviving this is to go into hiding every full moon, an excuse of an upset stomach, a made-up hunt for my own kind, more lies. I'm tired of pretending but it's for my own good. I'm just nervous that someone will catch on soon._

_Thankfully I found the basement beneath block twelve where I write this, there’s no windows down there. I think it has been long forgotten about by almost everyone. It’s not marked on any of the maps. There’s another one at the other entry, I think I’ll use that too to shake things up. It’ll help keep me safe, I hope._

_It’s become harder to hide once the darkness started growing in my mind, I could sense it trying to engulf me and make me into the image of the monster that I truly feared. The pack helps a lot, simply drawing on their strength and friendship is perhaps the only thing right now that can save me. In return I do my best out here trying to protect them covertly, throwing off scents and altering directions. My bond and loyalty are stronger than any tie to my past or the lie that I continue to live._

_I think I'll continue this journal whilst I'm here, perhaps it is the only way I can reconcile with this and my feelings while I don't have my companions by my side most days. Still I hear their reminder occasionally and sometimes that is just enough..._

As the seemingly journal continued there seemed to be continued stories of other camp activities, but apart from one entry that had seemingly been written on a full moon there was little reference to who or what they really were. I frowned, I couldn't help but think that perhaps whoever had written this was both a hunter and a werewolf. And what was Basement 12? Perhaps, Michael would know? Yet it was unclear from how long ago or how recent this had been written and whether this person was still even alive at all. My mind pondered over the thought.

"Which one you got there Luke, another 101 ways to kill a werewolf or something?" Ashton asked, leaning over my shoulder from the doorway.

"I guess you could say that. Not that helpful, I guess?" I sighed, closing the book. Although deep down I knew it was. I made a mental note to show Michael the book later. Perhaps he had already read it, but surely if Calum or he had read the book they would've said something. Perhaps my tired imagination had messed with the words and I saw much more in it than there was.

"I see," Ashton frowned, "Anyway, dinners ready? You coming in?"

I nodded. My stomach rumbling in response.

I quickly forgot the book, dumping it near the front door as the fragrant aroma of freshly cooked pasta wafted up my nose. I grinned, Calum had made use of the seemingly limited kitchen space and had prepared pasta. I couldn’t help but think of the first night we’d talked, and his mum had cooked me the same dish. I’d been so uncertain of him that night, but the pasta had been great.

As night fell outside, we ate in relative silence the four of us chowed down on it quickly. It was delicious.

As I ate, my stomach twisted as I wondered whether I should bring up the journal to the other guys. Though I wasn't sure whether it was that important. So there had been another werewolf who had been a hunter, not that big a deal. Yet the words echoed in my mind, whoever they were they had never been bitten but seemed to be a hunter. Perhaps things weren't as clear cut as we once thought. Perhaps the person had been like Calum, a natural born but whoever this person was they didn't speak of any family that had been one. I think they would’ve known if that was the case.

Yet what had become of them? Were they perhaps like Michael and me who had managed to evade the hunters purely out of luck. Did they simply erase themselves from the hunters once they were old enough to escape? What was the darkness they spoke of?

I bit my lip, at least I should tell Michael.

_'Hey, Mikey there's something I need to show you later.'_

Michael looked up from his pasta and raised a curious eyebrow at me. Before resuming to eat the pasta like I'd said nothing. I frowned, as I watched his eyes quickly flicker between Ashton and Calum around us.

_'Like what?'_ He questioned after a moment.

_'From one of the books.'_

_'Wait, you mean you actually found something?!'_ Michael glared across at me. Pausing from eating his pasta.

_'Perhaps, it's just an old journal.'_ I replied,  _'But the more I read into it the more I think it's something useful.'_

Michael’s eyes grew wide for a moment.  _'Alright, show me after dinner.'_ He nods, seeming to supress his interest.

“Mm, great pasta, Cal.” Michael continued to nod as a cover.

“Thanks,” Calum blushed, looking down into his meal, “My mum taught me how to make it.”

“Why of course, her cooking is legendary.” Michael declared.

Calum let out a small laugh, “I wouldn’t go that far, but yeah she’s pretty good.”

The rest of the meal continued as if nothing was wrong. The silence didn’t seem to return, Michael’s compliment seeming to break it. Michael started telling a funny story from a few years ago. It was easy to forget what we were here for.

"Alright, it's probably late enough for us to head out now, I guess? Everyone ready?" Calum questioned.

I let out a long sigh, it had been so easy to forget. That was when a mismatched set of ring tones ran out. Ashton and Calum both reached for their pockets producing their phones.

“We’re fine mum.” I heard Calum speak into the phone.

“No more news?” Ashton spoke into his own with a frown.

_‘Oh, Mikey the book!’_  I thought over to Michael. It was best to show him whilst Calum and Ashton were distracted.

Michael’s eyes grew wide,  _‘Yeah of course.’_

Cautiously the two of us moved, we huddled together facing the wall. I picked the book up passing it over to him. Michael gasped, as he read through the first few paragraphs.

_‘Wow, what does this mean?’_ Michael gasped,  _‘Maybe we did find something semi-useful after all.’_

“You guys coming?” Calum spoke as his eyes fell on us suspiciously, Ashton was right behind him, keys in hand. Michael quickly hid the book, hiding it under a nearby table. “We’re leaving now.”

“Oh yeah, right.” Michael and I nodded. We exchanged brief nervous glances. Maybe we should've told them too?

_‘We can tell them on the way.’_  Michael spoke already standing.  _'We can't waste anymore time.'_

I nodded, before walking towards the door. Michael followed closely behind me. My eyes fell on the car parked directly in front of the room. Though I paused as something was immediately out of place. Something was moving directly in front of it. I gasped when I saw what was standing between us and the car with glowing golden eyes.

"Cal, I think we have a problem." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^  
> Had a little bit of trouble with this chapter but glad it finally pulled itself together. Also it's hard to believe we're at Chapter 30 already! Not many chapters left to go now.


	31. Rematch

The wolf snarled at me, it's sharp white teeth exposed. I was frozen still as I felt the presence of the other guys behind me in the doorway. I felt a sharp pain as someone jabbed their elbow into my back and pushed past me. I saw a flash of brown hair move past me, as Calum stepped forwards. He stopped in front of me. A loud growl broke through the night as his eyes glowed with a vibrant golden.

The wolf cautiously stepped back a few places. I smirked, it should've known that it couldn't mess with us. It would be gone any moment now. The wolf let out a matching growl before it bounded forwards towards us. I flinched moving back into the doorway, falling back onto Michael and Ashton. Calum stood there unmoving. I held my breath, trying to assure myself that Calum knew what he was doing.

It was just as the wolf was almost at Calum, that it's form began to morph and change becoming the shape of a human midway. The person stopped a few meters from him, pushing their thick hair out of their face. It took me a moment to recognise who it was, he'd clearly had a haircut. I frowned, my breath catching.

I knew Finn had made it out of there somehow. Whilst I was glad that the Shadow Wolf hadn't made a victim of him either, I was still mad and uncertain as to why he had led me there that day.

He smirked at Calum, before he grinned at the three of us that were standing in the doorway. I shrunk under his gaze, I wasn't sure I was ready for this.

"Nice to see you again Finn. Guess you not dead, huh?" Calum smirked, looking directly into the eyes of the other Alpha.

Finn grinned, "Come on, Calum, it takes a lot more than a Shadow Wolf to bring me down you know."

"Oh, we all knew that." Calum shrugged, "Guess you weren't worth that much to it huh?"

Finn seemed to ignore Calum's words, his eyes were on me instead. He side stepped so that he was looking past Calum and directly at me. "Nice to see you too Luke. Looks like you made it out as well."

I clenched my fist, I could feel the anger building up inside of me as I was reminded what he had done. Finn had once again betrayed me. Leaving me for dead. I wasn't sure what his purpose was, but he seemed proud of it. I'd hoped I'd never have to see him again. I should've known I was wrong.

"You tricked me." I growled at him, meeting his gaze, "You knew all along that the Shadow Wolf was going to appear. I mean maybe you even planned it. I bet you even wanted it to kill me?"

For a moment Finn said nothing, Calum turned back around looking between Finn and me hesitantly.

"Oh, Luke." Finn sighed, as he shot a sympathetic look in my direction, "I didn't mean to leave you. I saw a chance to escape and I took it."

I didn't believe a word. I had no reason to trust him anymore, even in the slightest.

"Then explain what you're doing here right now then?" I demanded, as I glared directly across at him. "This looks like another one of your tricks."

"Oh Luke, I'm not here to argue with you." Finn smiled.

"Then what?" I said. "Just let us be."

Finn just smirked back at me.

"I suggest you leave now, Finn." Calum growled, stepping between the two of us, pushing Finn out of my view, "Or tell us what you want. Better yet, let's just take this fight elsewhere. I mean that's what you want right?"

"Ah, Calum it's like you read my mind. I take it you still remember what I told you?" Finn smirked, moving closer to Calum.

I blinked for a moment. What had Finn said to Calum? I couldn't help but wonder if it had been from that night at Emily's. Surely it wouldn't be from something that long ago.

"I tried hard to forget," Calum growled, not seeming shaken by Finn's words. "I think I know what you're here for now and this isn't on. If you want to challenge me then this isn't the time or the place to do it."

I bit my lip, realising what Calum was saying. Finn wanted to challenge Calum again. This wasn't right, and we certainly didn't have time for this. Finn had all that time back in Rosetta Park, why now? Something was very off.

"We're not in Rosetta park anymore." Finn smirked, "What better place to do this? What is it, Cal? Are you scared, do you think that you can't beat me?"

Calum didn't respond for a moment, I turned back to the others and the three of us exchanged nervous glances. He couldn't agree to this, we didn't have time. Besides fighting Finn last time had left him badly injured. Finn's confidence concerned me. Why did he think he had any more chance than he had last time?

"What's your deal with Calum, huh?" Michael glared, moving beside me, "First you pick on Luke, now Cal. Just leave us alone already."

"Michael, you stay out of this please," Calum glared letting out a long sigh, "I don't have a lot of choice, and I have to do this by myself."

I stared at him, myself? What was Calum going on about?

Michael's face fell, "You're kidding right?"

Calum shook his head, a vacant expression in his eyes. I couldn't believe it, as he turned away facing Finn once more.

"Alright, Finn you've been waiting for months now. Let's just get this over with." Calum spoke straight faced, "I'll meet you in the car park next door in five minutes."

Finn nodded, "Alone. Your pack can watch but they can't physically help you"

"Alone." Calum agreed.

Finn walked away, clearly already headed off to the car park. As he rounded the hotel block I noticed him shift back into a wolf. Yet what stunned me was that Calum had agreed to something like this.

Calum was already taking a step forward, and my throat caught. I was scared that all of this wasn't going to come to a happy conclusion this time. I guess going to search the hunter's camp had been put off for now.

"Cal, no." Ashton shook his head, pulling back on Calum's jacket, "What do you think you're doing? You don't have to."

Calum sighed, turning back to us with a tired expression, "I have to, Ash. It's a rule that it one Alpha challenges another they must take it. Besides this is what he's been waiting for after all."

"But why?" I questioned, "What does he want?"

Calum was silent, he glanced behind him for a moment, "You should find out soon enough." He responded cryptically.

I bit my lip trying to process what exactly was going on here, why did Calum have to take Finn on his own. Just why couldn't he tell us what he was about to do?

"What about the camp?" Michael frowned, "What happened to going back to search it?"

"We will," Calum nodded, "I just need to do this first."

Michael sucked in a deep breath, "But you could die, Cal." Michael spoke quietly with wide pleasing eyes. “You can’t do this again.”

It almost looked like he was about to cry. I could sense it through the bond, if Calum's actions were hurting anyone the most it was him. I frowned realising the very real possibility of Michael's words. Calum had barely made it out last time, and that had only been because the rest of us were able to help. Just when we'd gotten him back too.

"Look I need the three of you to stay out of it." Calum looked between the three of us, "No matter what happens can all of you promise me that?"

We said nothing, I exchanged glances with the others. I wasn't sure I trusted Calum's judgement on this. I didn't like his chances.

Calum looked between the three of us, his face falling. He let out a long sigh.

"Finn did say you guys could come and watch, and I think you should. Don't get involved, but keep close okay?" Calum questioned, "Remember that the three of you are more help that way."

The three of us said nothing. None of this was making sense. What was the use of watching when we were powerless do anything else? I wasn't sure I wanted to watch Calum have to fight Finn and be powerless to help. Yet I knew I couldn't stay here either.

"Please guys, trust me on this one." Calum pleaded, "I'm not going to let him get the best of me."

I exchanged nervous glances with both Michael and Ashton. Neither of them seemed certain that this was a good idea or not.

"Alright fine." Ashton nodded, "But we're seriously not allowed to get involved?"

"That's the rules." Calum nodded sadly. "Luke? Michael?" He spoke looking between the two of us.

"I don't know Cal..." I spoke hesitantly.

Michael's eyes were watering slightly, "You can't Cal."

There was hesitation in Calum's eyes for a moment, as their eyes met, "Please Mikey, trust me I know what I'm doing here. This is awful I know, but it's what I need to do. I meant what I said, your all more help to me up here."

Michael nodded, "Okay, just be careful."

"I will."

********

"He's an idiot." Ashton frowned, sitting beside me as we sat at the edge of the carpark. We'd followed Calum's orders, but had staked out one end of the carpark. Butterflies rolled around in my stomach. I didn't like any of this.

Michael didn't speak a word; his expression was blank and pale as we watched Calum cross the car park. From the bond I could tell it was taking everything he had not to march straight across the car park and stop him.

The two of them met in the centre and nodded to one another. My heart skipped, this was happening. Finn wasn't backing down and Calum seemed to be meeting his challenge. I didn't want to see how this ended.

I held my breath, as both their irises ignited into golden as they shifted into wolves. Within seconds they both launched at one another. Calum was swift, dodging and ducking around the other wolf. Finn seemed to catch onto his patterns though as he pulled Calum to the ground, the two of them wrestled back and forth with one another for a moment making a them look like a mess of fur and teeth.

Calum seemed to struggle under the other wolves grasp for a moment, before tearing back at him with equal force. I felt myself instinctively move closer to Michael and Ashton. Michael was trembling now, clearly trying to stop himself from shifting. His pale knuckles were tightly clenched into fists. I put my hand on his trying to steady it and he glanced up at me a look of surprise on his face. He nodded.

I'm not sure how long we sat there like that, at some point I noticed Ashton had Michael's other hand clamped firmly as well. The three of us exchanged silent glances, as our eyes went back to the car park scene.

The wolves’ sharp teeth as they glimmered under the streetlight, attempting to bite and rip at the other. There was a flash of sharp pointed claws as they tore through the air into the other wolf. It was getting difficult to know which wolf was which. Their quick movements making them unrecognisable. A strange coppery scent hit my nose and I sniffed the air, realising it was blood.

I sniffed the air, hoping to work out whose it was. As much as I hated Finn, I didn't want either of them to get hurt. Yet neither seemed to be starting to show any sign of weakness, their rematch raging on. My fears grew with every minute they continued, surely one of them would tire soon. Though I worried that it would be Calum first. I didn't want to think of what might happen if Finn were the one to win.

Yet still the three of us watched on, I held my breath. No one was winning or losing. They were evenly matched it seemed.

"Screw Calum, this is ridiculous." Michael huffed, throwing our hands away. He was already standing up, "I'm going over there."

"You can't." I glared at him, pulling him by his shoulder back to the ground, he winced clutching at his side, "Your still injured, you'll only make it worse."

Ashton nodded, "Come on Michael, be reasonable. Besides Calum told us to stay out of this. We can't help him, that's the rules."

That was when I heard the painful strained howl. It's sound shook right through me, like a catastrophic earthquake. I felt it like an echo, through every bone in my body, every breath. Almost as if the howl had been my own. My head immediately spun towards them.

“Oh, no.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! ^^


	32. Conquer

My body was completely frozen for a moment. It was as if time had stood still. My breath caught as Finn's wolfy grin was evidently on display. Calum's entire form flew backwards through the air. He fell to the ground with a deafening crunch. Calum didn't stand, but his howls continued. Finn dashed over to him, his movements gleeful. He knew he'd won.

I sucked in a breath, fear rooting me in place. Neither Michael or Ashton moved, their faces locked in horror. If he hadn't lost yet, we all seemed to realise that he was about to. If one of us intercepted, Calum would lose anyway.

Then there was a stronger howl much more desperate this time. It called to me, to all of us. My vision blurred in a sea of tears as my thoughts raced. Then I felt it in my fingertips, my lungs, every bone and organ in my body. I felt the coppery taste rise in my mouth, almost as if it was about to shift but much stronger this time. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see both Ashton and Michael's eyebrows narrowed, eyes glowing with a fierce golden. I could only assume mine were too.

For a moment I expected either one of them to leap forwards, shifting and swooping in to protect Calum from his impending doom. Yet neither did, nor did I. Instead, I feel an odd sense rise within me. I blink and for a moment, I'm seeing the world through someone else's eyes. I see the large menacing wolf before me, the individual gold and red flecks in its irises evident. A Shadow Wolf? Perhaps, though the gold suggested otherwise.

I feel the howl rise in my chest and I'm back within myself watching the scene unfold with my own two eyes. I hear Calum let out another howl, this one more distraught and desperate than any of the others had been. Opening my mouth, I hear the echoed howls launching into the night, our three howls joining together into something so much bigger than any one of us could make on our own.

My eyes fell on Calum now, as his body trembled slightly as he slowly pulled himself from the ground. He let out a loud growl, his eyes locking with Finn's. A look of stunned surprise crosses the other wolves gaze, as he jerks back hesitantly.

I could identify Calum much easier now, his eyes were glowing a stronger golden than I'd ever seen before, his fur almost seeming to glow under the dim street lights. Gaining his balance, he stood menacingly, evidently taller than the other wolf. His eyes narrowed, as he launched across at him.

There was something much more powerful, almost deadly in his movements, as he aggressively pinned Finn to the ground and growled at him. Finn seemed to be the one struggling under his grip now, as Calum held strong.

Calum placed his paw on Finn's chest, his fur seeming to glow brighter like a star. Finn let out a long and painful howl. Slowly Finn began to shift back to his human form. Calum let out a yelp as he tumbles forwards, landing on his hind legs. He adjusted himself turning to face the other Alpha. They met eyes and Finn nodded weakly. Though even that looked like too much effort for the other Alpha.

Calum nodded in return, but a moment later he too shifted back. He stood tall, his irises a bright golden. His hair seeming to glow under the dim light as he viewed the other Alpha. Yet I couldn't help but notice the large gash on the back of Calum's shoulder blade.

He continued to glare at Finn, as the other Alpha rose slowly his head tilted in submission. Calum didn't smile or offer any help to the other werewolf. Finn brushed the hair from his eyes, sending a murderous glare in Calum's direction.

"So, it's true, huh? Your exactly who I thought." Finn smirked, beads of sweat evident on his face, "And it seems you're finally using it."

"I'm not afraid anymore." Calum replied, his eyes glowing a brighter golden than I'd ever seen them before. "I am the leader of this pack, and I certainly don't bow down to people like you, never again."

Finn seemed amused by this, "Is that so? I guess you indeed win this round." Finn spoke, "I can see that I've lost, so I'll leave you now, but remember even power like that can be taken away golden boy."

Calum moved his mouth to reply, but Finn had already turned on his heel, disappearing around the block.

I wasn't sure I completely understood the weight of what had just happened, but it seemed monumental enough. At least I could tell that Calum had won. The three of us exchanged glances, nodding at one another, holding back grins. Michael already started racing over to him, Ashton and I following right behind.

"See, I told you guys I'd be okay." Calum grinned as we crowded around, pulling together into a hug. His eyes were still flecked with golden, as were Michael and Ashton's.

"Wait, Cal your shoulder." Ashton frowned, pulling away and gestured to it.

Calum frowned, following Ashton's gaze and shrugged, "It's fine, I'm already healing."

Sure, enough on closer inspection it was clear that unlike Mikey's wound it had healed substantially these past few moments. He was healing it seemed.

"Good," Ashton nodded, "Though what was all that? Is this what you meant?"

Calum nodded uncomfortably, his irises quickly losing their glow.

"This was one of the reasons I left." Calum spoke quietly, "Finn had every right to challenge me. I should've known he'd find us once we were a pack again."

"What are you saying Cal?" I questioned, "Did something happen?"

Calum shook his head, "Look I don't want to go into this right now and we don’t have the time. Let's just go search the campsite and I’ll explain it later."

I frowned, whatever had allowed him to defeat Finn wasn't something that Calum seemed comfortable in explaining. Was this what he had been referring to the other night at the pool?

"Quit dodging Cal." Ashton frowned, with narrowed eyebrows.

Calum opens his mouth to speak, but instead my attention is drawn to a sudden groan. Out of the corner of my eyes I see a figure fall. I look to the ground finding Michael down on his knees, clutching at his side as he grunted in pain. A wave of panic races through me, not all of it my own.

"Mikey?" The three of us question in unison.

"It hurts." Michael whimpers, looking up at us through his fading red hair.

"Let me see." Calum frowns, his tone gentle as he kneels across from him lifting his shirt. The bandage is completely stained, a rusted red colour with patches of scarlet. Hesitantly, Calum pulls it off revealing the skin underneath. The wound was larger than I remembered, parts of the surface tinged with black. I pulled a face, it looked as though it was getting worse. Michael let out a small grunt pulling away from Calum.

"What happening to it?" I frowned, biting my lip in concern.

"No idea." Calum frowned, shaking his head, "I've never seen anything like it."

"It's not healing." Michael sighed, "It's getting worse right?"

Calum bit his lip but nodded

Ashton and I exchanged nervous glances. I couldn't help but worry what it was doing to him? Or worse?

"We'll try putting some anti-septic cream on it." Calum suggested, "Without my mum's gear there isn't much else I can do."

Michael didn't appear to be listening to him anymore, his eyes were glassy as he stared straight in front of him. His free hand moved to his head as he let out a loud grunt in pain.

"Mikey are you even listening to me?" Calum frowned.

Michael waved his hand at him, remaining silent. Calum glared back shooting him a questioning glance.

"Guys can you hear that?" He asked after a moment, looking between the three of us.

I blinked, hear what? Maybe a couple of cars out on the freeway, but that was about all. Michael continued to look at us expectantly.

"Mikey, we can't hear anything..." Calum spoke looking cautiously between both Ashton and myself. Ashton and I both nodded quickly. Michael blinked, before his eyes fell on me.

"Luke? Surely you must, it's exactly like the one we hear when the Shadow Wolf is nearby." Michael said.

I shook my head, I was pretty sure I'd be able to tell if I could sense the Shadow Wolf, it was never easy to ignore. "Sorry Mikey, I can't hear anything."

Michael views me with a stunned expression, "But you always do...."

He sits in silence for a moment and none of us move to intervene or say anything. I looked around the car park, scanning the area for the sight of glowing red eyes. I concentrated my hearing but still heard nothing. Michael's sense must be seriously off. It was nowhere in sight. I shook my head at him.

Michael bit his lip in frustration. I’m starting to grow a little nervous, what if it's me whose sense is off?

"Though I can hear a voice too, so maybe it's different." Michael spoke with uncertainty, he looks up at us with a serious expression.

"What's the voice saying?" Calum frowned, speaking in a calm tone as he leans forward towards him.

"I think it wants me to find it. To help it-" Michael spoke, looking directly up at Calum, "It keeps repeating itself over and over-it hurts-" He clutches at his skull letting out another whimper.

"Another werewolf?" Ashton questions.

"Perhaps?" Calum shrugs.

"Though why would they only talk to one of us?" I frown, turning to both Ashton and Calum, I bit my lip, "Wait, do you even think it's what's hurting him?"

Both nod seeming to consider my words. We remain in relative silence, Michael groaned a few more times clutching at his wound. I was worried, he seemed to be getting worse than we initially thought.

"Do you recognise the voice?" I question, what if it were Emily. Perhaps we were closer than we thought.

Michael shook his head. "It sounds female I think? Other than that, I'm not sure."

I bit my lip. My theory still held, but if it had been Emily I think he would've recognised it.

"Emily?" Ashton questioned, his eyes lighting up. I guess I wasn't the only one who thought of that.

Michael promptly shook his head. "It doesn't sound like her."

"What about Zoe?" I asked, she was probably the only other female werewolf I could think of besides Pip.

Michael shook his head again, he let out a small grunt in pain. Calum hovered over him nervously now, seeming unsure what to do. I don't think he'd seen anything like this before.

"Maybe it is the Shadow Wolf." He mumbled quietly.

"The Shadow Wolf?" We all questioned with confused glances. What would it have to do with the Shadow Wolf?

Michael was silent for a moment. His eyebrows were narrowed in concentration.

"Yeah, I think it is."

"How? Why do you think that?" Calum frowned at him.

"I think it's trying to show me something. Uh- there's a huge pond and I think I can see it's reflection in it. Um, I think it might be near the campground. There used to be a large pond that looked like that right behind some of the cabins." Michael explained slowly.

There was silence as the three of us seemed to consider his words. It seemed like the way we were able to show things to one another mentally, so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Was the Shadow Wolf really the one showing Michael that scene?

Michael sucked in a deep breath, and he showed us what he meant. I saw the scene before me cabins exactly like the ones we had seen today, a large moon reflected pond of water beside it. The hulking red-eyed shadowy form of the wolf contrasting the light of the moon.

A moment later, I was back in the carpark. Ashton, Calum and I exchanged yet another worried glance, Michael was looking around at the three of us expectantly. I wasn't sure what to make of it. Was this another clue? Or something else entirely?

"I'm worried this is a trap." Ashton frowned, the first to speak "How is it showing things to him like we can? There's no way it's here, or surely Luke would be able to sense it as well."

"I agree, I think this might be a trap." I nodded.

"Trap or not, if this is right then we need to search the campground right away." Calum nodded. "Nice work, Mikey."

"Uh, I guess so?" He spoke awkwardly, he clutched at his side wincing slightly. "Wish it hurt a little less though."

Ashton, Calum and I nodded shooting him sympathetic glances. I was glad we possibly had a stronger clue but still worried about Michael's wound.

"Alright, if we're doing this tonight then we've wasted enough time already. Let's go." Calum spoke, offering his hand to Michael.

Michael took it, wincing as Calum helped pull him up to his feet.

"Let's get this over with." Michael agreed.

"Mikey your coming with us?" Ashton questioned with a raised eyebrow. “Do you really think you should be coming with us in this state?"

I nodded in agreement, I wasn't sure he'd even make it as far as the hotel room. We didn’t quite know what we might be up against tonight.

Michael rolled his eyes, straightening up, "Come on if I'm the one that this Shadow Wolf's showing things to then don't you think I should be with you guys?"

“True, but…” I started.

“Guys,” Michael frowned. “I’m fine.”

"Michael no you’re not. Cal-" Ashton frowned.

Calum shrugged, "It's Michael's choice, if he wants to come with us then he can."

"That's right. I'm coming, I'm not staying behind." Michael declared, he looked between Ashton and I's sceptical faces. "I'll be fine, guys. Trust me, I've been worse injured than this before."

I frowned, I didn't like the idea; but I guess if Michael wanted to come with us then we didn't have a lot of options. I could totally imagine him following out behind us no matter what we said. I think Calum knew that too.

"Well as long as your fine with it." Ashton shrugged. I nodded too.

"Okay, now that’s sorted. Let's get moving we don't have all night." Calum spoke.

There were mutters of agreement and we began once more to walk towards the hotel room. I immediately noticed Michael was a little unsteady on his feet compared to usual, it was clear that his injury was still affecting him. I just couldn't help but wonder whether we were making the right choice letting him come with us?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^


	33. Lost And Found

  
I took a deep breath as the four of us stood at the end of the driveway, the forest directly across from us. We'd decided to travel on foot. Or on paw as Michael had jokingly referred to it. Fear lingered deep in my mind, if we did cross paths with the Shadow Wolf tonight; we were nowhere near ready. For starters Michael was injured, I glance over at him. He was putting on a brave face but one look at his wound told a different story it was clear that it was still hurting him. In any other circumstances I would've protested and stopped him from coming with us. Yet he was so determined, and right now we needed to stick together. Calum still hadn't explained what had happened with Finn, but he had muttered something about needing to stay close. So, I wasn't one to argue. Calum himself was evidently exhausted from having just fought Finn, Ashton's worry was clear from his expression and I wasn't sure I was ready to face it again anyway. We weren't in the best shape. Still perhaps it's better for us to cross paths with the Shadow Wolf on our terms rather than on its. Calum had said, we would never be truly ready to face it. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right.

"We ready?" Calum questioned, shooting a nervous glance at Michael.

"Yeah." There was a murmur of agreement among the four of us.

I drew in a deep breath, pushing my nerves out of my mind for the time being and focused on shifting. It was effortless these days, a single thought and I felt the shift wash over me in an instant. I turned to Ashton beside me, the blondish brown wolf grinned back at me. Then I looked over at Calum's dark brown fur, he gave me a soft nod. I heard a small yelp and looked over at Michael, even in wolf form the wound evident through his sandy blonde fur, the fur around the wound was already beginning to stain. Catching the three of us staring, he nodded.

Please let nothing bad happen to us tonight.

Calum and Michael both took off first, though it was clear from Michael's jerky movements that he didn't have his usual speed. I could probably run laps around him if we were to have a race. Calum appeared to slow to match his pace. Ashton and I took off behind them, the two of us keeping our pace much slower than usual. I could only hope that Michael would make it through tonight okay.

Still despite our lack of pace it felt good to be a wolf again. To feel the ground, disappear beneath me with every leap and breath. The brisk night air rushed through my fur. I could see the almost full moon rising in the distance, a reminder of tomorrow. A small lump rose in my throat would we even make it that far?

I was jerked sideways as a mass of blondish brown fur knocked into my body. I gritted my teeth steadying myself, before I tilted my head sideways at my running partner shooting him a glance.

 _'Stay positive.'_  Ashton thought to me, as our eyes met.

I gave him a nod. Ashton was right, worrying about what was going to happen wouldn't solve anything. Facing the Shadow Wolf last night had bought us more time at least. Things could be a lot worse. I sighed, I could tell myself all those things, but it was still tough knowing what could be.

Turning away from Ashton, I focused my attention on the unfamiliar trees that were whirring around me. It was unsettling to be surrounded by one that I didn't recognise. I'd torn through the paths of the ones in Rosetta Park so many times that there was something wrong about trampling through here. I looked up ahead at Calum and Michael who were navigating us through them with ease, as if they were our own trees.

 _'We're close. Keep your eyes out, everyone.'_ Michael spoke.

I nodded, listening and watching for anything that was out of place. I knew if we were close to the Shadow Wolf that Michael or I would probably be the first ones to sense it out of everyone. Yet, I still felt and heard nothing.

I noticed a break in the trees up ahead, and a small beam of light coming from that direction. I was filled with hesitation for a moment, worried that Mikayla or another hunter was still hanging around near here. This didn't seem to deter any of the others though, because they kept running.

Our group began to slow as we came to a large pond, surrounded with reeds. There were buildings from the campground behind it, but no one seemed interested in those. I stopped to the left of Calum, Ashton stopping on the other side of me. As Michael walked closer to the pond, cautiously dipping a paw in. I held my breath, half expecting a lake monster or the Shadow Wolf to emerge a moment later. Perhaps I'd just seen one too many horror movies.

 _'Guys this is it.'_  He nodded.

 _'Funny, it should lead us back here, huh?'_  Ashton frowned, his eyes over at the cabins by the edge of the water.

 _'You got that right.'_  Calum frowned, ' _There's something unusual about this place. Why does everything keep leading us back here? We found nothing today, yet still we find ourselves back here once more.'_

 _'Maybe it's possible we were searching in the wrong spot?'_  I suggested, biting my gum.

Calum nodded, _'Possibly, but I'm not so sure. We searched everywhere right?'_

I looked around the area looking for any sign of the Shadow Wolf. If it was here shouldn't Michael or I have sensed it by now? I sniffed the air unable to catch the scent of anything unusual, just the smell of pond water. I screwed up my nose.

 _'I've got nothing,'_  Michael shook his head, walking slowly away from the water,  _'Perhaps I'm just going crazy.'_

We remained in silence for a moment, Calum looked up to the sky, before seeming to sniff the air for a moment. Calum shook his head,  _'I wouldn't be so sure about that. I can sense it, something's been here recently. I'm pretty sure they've masked their scent.'_

The three of us exchanged confused glances. Calum gestured towards something further along the grass bed. My eyes followed his, noticing the large crushed sections of grass. The four of us darted over to it, giving it a closer look.

Michael put his paw in it. _'Whatever it was, it was a lot bigger than any of us.'_

 _'Shadow wolf?'_ Ashton questioned.

 _'Perhaps,'_  Calum nods,  _'Though what would it have to do with the hunters?'_

 _'Mikey are you sure we've checked everywhere?'_ Ashton questioned looking over at the blonde wolf who was still carefully examining the crushed grass.

Michael blinked looking over at the three of us, who were now staring at him.  _'Maybe we missed somewhere? The campsite was big and there was a lot of locked doors around? It's worth another look. It's been a while since I've been here so perhaps we could've?'_

 _'In that case let's move closer to the cabins.'_  I suggested,  _'it’s clear there's nothing out here.'_

The other three wolves nodded in agreement. Calum took the lead once more, Michael trailing behind him. Ashton and I started walking side by side after them. However, as the bed narrowed both of us hesitated for a moment, there was only enough room for one wolf to walk along the edge.

 _'Luke you go first.'_  Ashton nodded,  _'I'll take back.'_

I shook my head,  _'Maybe I should, and if the Shadow Wolf is around I'll be the first one to sense it.'_

Ashton tilted his head at me, viewing me with confusion, before nodding. He began to walk in front of me behind Michael.

I stayed alert, it felt strange to be at the back of the group like this, but I knew my logic was strong. Having me at the back of the group meant that at least I should have warning if the wolf was close.

We stuck close to the buildings as we made it around the other side of the riverbed. Not a single cabin had lights on now. I wondered for a moment if perhaps I'd imagined the one that I had seen, especially considering no one else had commented on it.

I was starting to grow nervous, what if Mikayla or another hunter caught us out here. I wasn't sure that looking for the Shadow Wolf was an adequate excuse.

We made our way around the corner into a central area of cabins, I could see a group of rocks set into a circle, a long-forgotten fire pit now left abandoned. I realised we were in a different part of the campsite to what we had been earlier today, perhaps we were onto something. I hadn't searched this whole place after all. I'm surprised Michael hadn't mentioned it earlier. Perhaps it had been a good thing that Ashton had pointed it out.

 _'Oh yeah, I don't think we came over here. This part used to be the coolest. I forgot it was here.'_ Michael spoke walking around it,  _'We used to have a massive fire pit every night of camp. We'd toast marshmallows and all kinds of cool things.'_

The three of us nodded, though I could see Calum shooting him a glare. I was a little worried too, he didn't seem to be as focused as we'd like. The three of us followed him.

 _'And this one used to be my cabin.'_  Michael proudly declared as we trekked past a cabin with a dark blue marker out the front.

Without further warning, Michael trotted up to the front porch of his old cabin.

 _'Mikey.'_  Calum hissed sharply.  _'Get back here.'_

Michael tilted his head, before pulling himself up against the small cabin window. He looked inside pressing his face against it. He jerked backwards. I let out a sharp gasp, as he fell backwards worried that his wound was causing him pain again. Yet he managed to spin, landing on both feet on the wooden surface of the cabins porch.

He looked between the three of us, his eyes wide. He didn't speak or offer any suggestion to what he had seen or what had just happened.

 _'Follow me.'_ He spoke.

I barely had a moment to process his words; when Michael took off running in the direction behind the cabin. I exchanged confused and concerned glances with Calum and Ashton, and the three of us took off in unison after him.

He was running so quickly, that I could feel Calum and Ashton losing pace behind me. It seemed whatever had worked out was beating out whatever pain his injury caused him. Considering he'd been running so slowly before now. I was even having trouble keeping up with him.

 _'Michael where are we going?'_  I called to him.

Michael's head briefly moved for a moment, but he offered no suggestion as to where he was leading us. I couldn't help but be concerned after his sense of the Shadow Wolf that following him might not actually be the best idea. Yet, a clue was a clue. He must've found something.

I looked behind me, at Ashton and Calum who were a little way behind, both still struggling to keep pace with us.

I caught up with Michael as he slowed to a stop at the start of the incline to a large hill. He turned back towards us, as if to check we were still following. As we climbed side by side, I noticed there was an old cabin at the flat section at the top of the hill, the roof was falling in, and there was evidence of graffiti along one of the walls. If the camp was abandoned, then this had to have been kept like this even longer. We hadn't been up here today either. Why had Michael brought us up here though?

 _'I think I can catch Harry's scent.'_  Ashton spoke quietly through the bond.

I viewed Ashton in confusion. ' _Here? '_

Of course, he would be able to recognise his brother's scent. Yet what would his brother be doing all the way out here, we were miles from Rosetta Park.

Ashton took a step forwards, and my eyes immediately turned to him as he sniffed the air. His eyebrows narrowed, and I could see him leaning backwards ready to launch.

 _'Ashton no, wait.'_  I thought out.

It was too late, Ashton was already barrelling towards the building in front of us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^  
> Meant to have this up a few days ago, but a certain new album may have distracted me. It's good though. :D


	34. Lie To Me

' _Ashton, wait! Come back!'_  There were screams through the bond, as the wolf raced ahead of us.

Without a further thought, Calum and I took off after him, Michael after us. I looked back, noticing Michael was a little unsteady on his feet now, whatever had pushed him all the way up here was now gone. He let out a small wince, causing Calum and I to both shoot concerned glances at him.

Although I was still worried about Michael, my concerns returned to Ashton who had stopped at the site of the cabin and was sniffing at the front door of it. The three of us arrived behind him, just as he managed to push the door open with his nose.

Cautiously we crowded around inside the cabin, I blinked a few times my eyes adjusting to the complete lack of light. I could make out a large hatch in the floor. Probably leading down to a cellar, I guess? Though why would they have one all the way up here though? If it had been a hunter's camp, then this was more than a little odd.

Ashton's form began to change, and I noticed that he'd shifted back. He tugged at the hatch to open it. The hatch lifted a fraction off the ground but didn't open completely.

"Too heavy." He muttered.

He glanced around at the three of us questioningly as he gestured to the hatch in the floor. I wasn't sure I liked the idea, but I guess we didn't have a lot of choice. I shifted back, as did Calum and Michael. Calum and I took a side of the hatch each, Michael watching on. I gritted my teeth as the three of us worked to pull the hatch upwards. It was difficult to lift even with the three of us. Yet, slowly it began to creak open.

With the hatch open I looked down, it seemed to lead down a stone embankment into a room. I could feel the temperature in the cabin decrease, it was like ice. I glanced cautiously at the others, was it worth going down there? Or would this just be like the other room that Michael had found earlier.

Then the scent hit me, I was surprised for a moment that I recognised it. I knew it was that of a hunter, but familiar to me. This was all getting weird.

 _'I can pick up the scent of my mother now too.'_  I frowned.

 _'I can sense Emily as well.'_ Michael nodded in agreement,  _'I think we're onto something.'_

Harry, Emily, my mum either this was one big illusion or Michael was right.

 _'Let's go down there then.'_ Ashton nodded, his foot already on the first step.

 _'Just be careful guys, I'm not sure I like this.'_ Calum frowned.  _'It seems all too easy.'_

I nodded, this did seem a little too easy. It wasn't like we were simply in Rosetta Park. All three of them were presumed missing, we weren't sure what had happened to my mother or Harry, but we knew that Emily had quite possibly been taken by the Shadow Wolf. My stomach turned at that, perhaps we would encounter it today after all.

I sucked in a deep breath as we climbed down into the stony ice-cold basement. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. Though it appeared the room was empty. I frowned, unbelievable. I knew I’d caught the scent of my mum down here. Perhaps they were somewhere else?

Then my eyes landed on the metal barred off section of the room. I could see an odd shape moving from in front of a tiny barred window, the moonlight from outside barely filtering in. I bit my lip, taking a step backwards, pointing in that direction. Suddenly; golden eyes were illuminated in the middle of the group. I gasped.

We paused for a moment, exchanging nervous glances. Michael walked forwards towards the bars.

"Emily?!" Michael questioned.

Calum, Ashton and I hesitantly moved closer at those words. I looked inside noticing Emily first, her long dark hair was a tangled mess and her face slightly pale and shallow. Around her were two sleeping figures, one a smaller boy that I recognised to be Harry, the other was my mum. My heart skipped, we'd found them.

"Boys?!" Emily gasped, "Shit, you all shouldn't be here. You should leave right now-"

Calum simply grinned, "Nice to see you too, Em. It's okay we are, we're just going to break you guys out first." His eyes scaled the bars, "Just uh...once I work out how to do it."

"No Calum you don't understand." Emily spoke, her eyes serious. "If they find you here-"

"They won't."

Emily shot him a glare, "Cal, listen to me. Forget us, get out of here. Find somewhere safe. Believe me."

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." Calum shot back. "I didn't come here to argue with you about what we can and can't do. I'm not-we're not leaving-"

Emily frowns at him, before letting out a sigh, "Fine, whatever.” She looks around before continuing, “So, I think the locks are okay, but watch the bars." Calum raised an eyebrow, and she added, "They're laced with Wolfsbane."

To prove her point, she extended her hands out to us, revealing the blistering red burn marks. My skin crawled at the sight, I wanted to avoid that.

"Hmmm, Em its late. Who's there?" A second female voice spoke. Stunned, I looked up to see my mother rubbing at her eyelids, as she squinted through the caged bars. "Luke is that you?"

"Yeah, hey mum." I spoke awkwardly, the word seeming unfamiliar. I tried my best to keep the iciness from it. I wasn't sure how long I was going to need to stay nice to her. I wasn't sure whether she had any involvement in this or what had happened to me. Though if she was behind these bars with Emily, I doubted that she did.

My mum wasn't looking at me anymore, she had turned to gently shake the small third figure awake. The small boy glared at her as he let out a yawn. "Your brothers here." She told him gently.

His eyes lit up, as his attention quickly turned to the four of us.

"Ash." The small boy grinned, his entire face lighting up as he raced towards the edge of the bars. He squished his face between the bars, as he reached out towards Ashton, I was instantly glad that the small boy wasn't like us because I'd hate to think the pain that doing that would've caused.

"Good to see you bud." Ashton grinned, keeping his hand away from the bar, "Give us a minute and we'll get you all out of here."

Harry nodded quickly, retracting his hand in what looked to be slight disappointment.

"Okay, so how do you reckon we do this? Obviously, none of us can break the bars so that won't work." I frowned, examining the structure carefully.

Calum reached for the lock, he let out a sharp yelp as his pinkie finger met the edge of the bar. It smouldered slightly.

"Need to be more careful Cal," Ashton frowned.

"I know." Calum growled, sticking the burned section in his mouth. His eyes darted around the lock seeming to work out how he was going to grab it.

"I'm just glad you're okay, Luke." I heard my mother's voice through the bars, I turned and looked at her. She was looking at me with genuine sincerity.

I blinked stunned by her sudden familiarity. My throat caught, rendering me speechless.

"It's okay, I've been talking to Emily. I'm sorry Luke for everything I did or said to you, I really am. I wanted you to know that." She spoke. "No matter what you are, your still my son."

I bit my lip. I was glad to hear her say that. Yet, I couldn't help the twist in my stomach, how could she say those things after what she'd quite possibly been involved with.

"You know I'd probably have forgiven you, but since I found out I was a hunter's little science experiment. Right now, I'm not even sure I can trust you." I spoke icily.

Mum raised an eyebrow, her face falling as she looked at me with what seemed to be genuine disbelief, "What are you talking about, Luke?"

"Geez, still lying to me huh? How could you not know?" I scowled at her.

"Know what Luke?” She spoke, seeming to move closer to the edge of the bars.

"You heard what I said, I was a hunter's experiment." I continued "Surely you'd have been involved somehow?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Luke?" She frowned. "What was it?"

I raised an eyebrow, she was bluffing surely. Yet her expression said otherwise. I gritted my teeth. Did she not know about any of this? Though, she'd lied to me for so many years what was a couple more?

"They gave me the traits of a werewolf before I was born as a test to see how it would affect me as a hunter." I explained.

"Wait, we were told to wait to train you until you were about sixteen or seventeen but nothing like that-"

Her mind seemed to be clicking over before my eyes. Her face grew pale, as her eyes met with mine.

"Oh no-" She frowned, "I think I know now. Gosh, before you were born-"

My heart sunk, so she'd known about this all along. I should've known.

"So, you knew then? I knew it."

"No, you don't understand Luke, they insisted I go to a certain doctor, they made me take you to see him every few months after you were born. They said you had a heart condition but now I'm not so sure-"

"A heart condition huh?" I almost laughed at the idea, it seemed like an excuse the hunters would make to cover it up.

"I don't know how you found out. But I can't believe they did something like that to you, and without telling or asking me either. Of course, I would've said no." There were tears welling up in her eyelids, guilt riddled my stomach, perhaps I should've waited to talk to her about it, she weakly smiled at me, "I know I already said I'm sorry Luke, but I mean it. If only I'd known what they'd done to you. Geez, I'm an awful mother."

I felt a lump rise in my throat, I don't think she had known either. "Mum it's okay. I don't think you could've known. I mean I wasn't the only one, Michael was like me as well."

Michael blinks seemingly shocked at being drawn in the conversation, but nods.

My mother looked between the two of us. Her eyes resting on Michael way longer than they needed too, ”Wait I think I remember you now, it was hard to tell with your bright hair you're the Clifford's kid, right? Now I think of it, you and Luke used to play together a lot." She frowned, she went silent for a moment as she seemed to think over it, "Then one day they told us to keep you separate as you'd had a big fight, hard to believe considering what great friends you both were but perhaps this was why."

Michael and I exchanged glances, somehow, I had the feeling that hadn't been the case either. I thought of that picture we'd seen, my mother’s words proving true. If we were such great friends then why could neither of us remember, we both should've been old enough to at least remember something.

"You promise you're not lying?" I stared at her holding her gaze.

"I think she's telling the truth Luke." Michael frowned putting his hand on my shoulder. "I haven't talked with mine, but I don't even think our own mothers knew what they did to us."

My mother nodded, "I swear Luke. I had no idea."

I looked between her and Michael who were both looking at me as if to tell me to believe them.

"Okay, I believe you." I nodded, "But I'm not sure if I can ever properly forgive you, I need time."

My mother nodded, "I understand."

It wasn't perfect, but perhaps if we made it out of here alive this was the start of mending my relationship with my parents. If that was the only good thing that came out of this, I was glad. I made a mental note to thank Emily later, I had noticed my mother coming around more but she'd obviously helped even more.

I narrowed my eyebrows, we still had a massive problem we needed to find a way to break them out of here before anyone found us.

"How do you think we get them out?" I questioned, noticing that Calum and Ashton were both still staring at the bars and the lock rather than getting them open, "I mean, we can't touch the bars. There's not keys are there?"

"Not in here at least." My mum answered for me.

I scowled, this was getting difficult. If the locks were the only things we could touch the easiest solution would be a key. The only other thing I could think of was using one of our strength to break the shank of the padlock.

"Em, you said the locks were okay, right?" Michael frowned.

Emily nodded.

"Ah, ha." Calum grinned, as he carefully grasped the lock in his hand. I bit my lip, but his hand didn't seem to burn, so I guess Emily was correct that there wasn't any wolfsbane on the padlock like the bars. Calum's claws quickly extended as he twisted the lock with them. I hear a click and the lock opens. Calum discards it on the ground with a loud clang.

"Finally." Calum grunted looking physically exhausted. "Who would've thought that old trick would work." Calum grinned as he spun the lock around on his finger, nodding at both Ashton and Michael.

"Ha, who knew that old attaching locks to school bags trend would actually work in our favour?" Michael grinned back.

Ashton frowned, "Aw, man don't remind me."

"You know, we mighten have become friends if it wasn't for it though." Michael grinned.

"True." Ashton nodded. "Maybe those idiots were good for something."

"Agreed." Michael nodded, with a small chuckle.

I couldn't help but feel as though I missed the joke, but hey at least whatever Calum had done had worked.

I heard a loud creak and jumped. I looked to the bars where my mother was opening it for the three of them. I guess she was the only one who could touch it after all, Emily was averse to wolfsbane as we were and from the effort on my mother's face I could only assume that Harry probably wasn't strong enough to open it on his own.

Harry ran straight into Ashton’s arms the moment they’d cleared the gate. I smiled, glad that we’d found them and alive too. Though I couldn't help but notice the identical circular band aids on each of their right arms. The kind that a nurse would put on after you'd had a needle or a blood test.

"Em, what are those?" I asked her, gesturing towards hers.

"We don't have time, we need to run." Emily frowned, her eyes suddenly wide with alarm.

"Somehow I think it's too late for that." Michael frowned, I turned noticing the group of hunters now surrounding us. One had a knife pointed at his neck.

I turned to find a hunter standing behind me a bow pointed directly at my skull. I looked around noticing each of them had a weapon pointed at us. My stomach tightened, it seemed this wouldn't be an easy escape after all. They had seemingly come from nowhere.

"Mum did you organise this?" I asked looking her directly in the eyes. Though I regretted it noticing that a hunter stood behind her with a knife, holding it up to her throat.

She shook her head quickly, "Of course not."

Then who?

"I did." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so who was it? Though at least we've found everyone now? 
> 
> I don't think I've ever put the incident that Calum, Ashton and Michael are referring to in the actual story, though if I ever post the short stories relating to this it'll probably be mentioned in there. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much for reading! ^^


	35. Faded

My heart thumped in my chest as my eyes locked with that of the blue eyed curly blonde-haired girl standing at the top of the staircase. She lifted her hood and smiled at us. This afternoon suddenly made sense, why a hunter had been hanging around a space like this. Mikayla was involved. Though where had all the hunters come from surely, we would’ve sensed them earlier?

"Was this what you meant? Just living here, huh?" Calum questioned, with a smirk, "I didn't realise that this was what this camp was for?"

"So, I lied, what does it matter?" Mikayla shrugged as she crossed the room towards us, “Besides you boys lied too. So much for just passing through?” Her eyes fell on Michael at that last part.

"So, you think imprisoning our families and friends is fun? My little brother?" Ashton growled, his eyes glowing golden, "They have nothing to do with any of this? Why stoop so low as that?"

The Hunter closest to him moved closer, drawing their arrow tighter. I held my breath worried they were going to shoot. Not here, not with his little brother watching. Ashton seemed to realise this his irises quickly losing their glow.

She grinned, seeming amused by Ashton's words and actions. "Well we can resolve all this peacefully."

I raised a suspicious eyebrow; Mikayla's words were bothering me. She kept dodging.

"Peacefully?" Michael laughed, "Maybe tell that to your friends over here." His eyes fell on the knife wielding hunter behind him.

The hunters' eyebrows narrowed at this, as he pulled back on the knife and swung it down towards Michael's chest. My throat caught, as I tried to yell out.

"Wait, we still need him!" Mikayla yelled her voice cracking through the air, the panic evident on her face.

The hunter froze, immediately lowering his weapon. Michael smirked, and the two seemed to consider one another for a moment. Then there was a blur of motion as Michael raised his arm tackling the knife out of the hunters' hands. The hunter seemed genuinely startled by the action.

Michael seemed to notice this, kneeing the hunter in the groin as they tried to grab the knife back from him. The hunter yelped, falling to their knees as they winced in pain. He pointed the knife at his chest. The other hunters let out gasps turning their weapons to him.

Ashton pulled his brother close, turning him away from them. I couldn't help but stare, what was Michael thinking? We needed a better plan, there was far too many of them for us to fight our way out of here.

"You guys don't want me dead right?" Michael said with a smug expression, "So there's no reason to hold back. Who's next, huh?"

A few of the hunters exchanged nervous glances but many remained stoic faced. I couldn't help but wonder what their play was here? Why had Mikayla said that?

"You sure about that kid? Doesn't mean we can't hurt one of your friends." A hunter standing just in front, grinned back at him as he held a sword much like Michael's towards him. He was about our age perhaps a bit older, I wondered whether Michael even knew him. Though there was no familiarity in either's eyes.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the hunter behind me pull his bow tighter. I gulped, one slip and I was a goner. They weren't bluffing.

Michael paled at those words, as he narrowed his eyebrows. "You wouldn't dare." He growled.

"Oh, I would, mutt." The hunter challenged him with a grin, as he stepped closer pressing the sword closer towards Michael's chest. Michael pointed the hunters knife he’d stole back towards him.

"Boys, boys. Enough." Mikayla yelled as she stepped beside them. She glared between them, "We need all of them. Not just him. She wants them all here."

"But-"

"I don't care." She glared at him, "I'm just following orders and you should be too." Her scared eyes flickered to me for a moment as she shot a poisonous glare. "As much as we'd like to. We can't."

My stomach twisted as my mind wandered back to that day in the comic store. Perhaps I couldn't blame her for being pissed at me, it was the one day I feared that I'd become the monster that these hunters expected me to be. Mikayla had just as much reason to hate me as much as I hated her.

_'Close your eyes everyone!'_

Those words in my mind pulled me straight from the memory. My eyes flickered to Calum for a moment as he nodded, his eyes on my mother. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I knew that voice to be Calum’s. So I quickly shut my eyes. As I did I barely saw the flash of light burst through my closed eyelids. I let out a yelp as a loud explosion shook my eardrums and they began to ring. I heard screeches and yells of those around us. My heart lurched as I heard those of a young boy.

"Harry it's okay. You're okay," I heard Ashton's voice from beside me.

Slowly I opened my eyes, cautious that there wasn't another blast. My vision was marred with yellow, and it took me a few blinks to see properly through it. I could make out the shapes of hunters, all desperately rubbing at their eyes. I made out my friends, who were looking around as bemused as I was. All accept Calum who was grinning at someone. I followed his gaze to my mum who was looking rather stunned in the middle of it all, holding a small split device in hand.

"Mum?" I gasped. Realising she'd been the one to trigger this.

"Well, we're getting out of here aren't we?" She smiled back at me.

I couldn't believe it, after all this time she was helping us. I guess she had meant what she'd said. 

"Nice one, clever idea to set off a flare." Michael grinned at her, emerging from the dust, "You know I would've done that...uh if I had one."

"Shut up, Mikey." Calum moaned, shooting him a glare.

Emily nodded, shooting Michael a glare too, "Yeah, we don't have much time and we still need to get out of here."

Out of nowhere a hunter came diving towards Emily's back, I let out a gasp just as Emily dodged out the way. She let out a yelp, and I noticed that the hunters weapon had grazed the side of her shoulder. I frowned, just because the hunters couldn't see didn't mean they couldn't still hear us.

"Right. Ash, you've got Harry?" Michael called, seeming to realise we needed to get moving.

Ashton nodded gesturing to the small boy that was now clinging onto his back like a tiny koala. With his other hand he was rubbing at his eyes. I felt guilty that we hadn't been able to warn him about the light. He was affected by it the same way the hunters were. At least it would give us some idea when we were out of time.

I noticed some of the hunters seeming to gain their bearings as they pointed their weapons towards us. Our group exchanged glances as Emily began racing up the staircase two steps at a time. As we followed up after her, I could hear and sense the rush of weapons as they shot wildly and misaimed at us.

"Ash, I can't see." Harry complained from just behind.

"I know bud, it'll wear off soon." Ashton replied, the concern evident in his voice.

I looked back for a second, through the fog I could faintly make out the hunters struggling behind us. Directly behind me was Ashton, I could see Harry holding on with only one hand as he rubbed violently at his eyes, both were swollen. I guess he must've been quite close to the flare when my mother had exploded it, that's why it was affecting him so badly. It was powerful stuff.

I sucked in a breath; the hunters were getting closer with every throw or shoot. They were gaining on us. I heard Ashton let out a small grunt. I turned, watching as the tip of an arrowhead collided with his shoulder, barely missing Harry's tiny hand. Ashton narrowed his eyebrows continuing up the staircase behind me. He was okay, I hoped.

We kept running, the staircase feeling like it lasted for an eternity. I could see the darkness of the cabin just above us. We were getting close.

"Ash, I'm slipping!" I heard a small high-pitched voice yell.

My heart stopped, as I recognised the voice. I slowed and turned watching as Harry began to slip from Ashton's back. His hands released as he fell backwards. I couldn't reach him, I'd trip or fall too or take Ashton with me. Ashton slowed and let out a sharp gasp as he frantically grabbed back for him, though his hands were only meeting with air as his brother slipped right through his fingers. My breath caught, it was a long fall from here.

My eyes locked on my mother who was right behind Ashton, her expression was horrified. She leaped forwards, missing a step and holding her arms out with the clear purpose of catching him. As her hands made contact, she pulled Harry backwards into her chest barely stopping herself from falling backwards too from taking on the small boys' weight.

They shot relieved grins at one another.

"Thank you." Ashton nodded.

I let out a sigh of relief, but my stomach turned at just how close that had been.

_'You guys coming?'_ A voice questioned.

When I looked up; Calum had stopped at the top, turning back to us his eyes wide and frantic with alarm. Michael, Emily and Calum were at the top of the staircase now, and the three of us worked to catch up with them.

A few moments passed, and we emerged into the night air above, joining the others. Yet I was aware things weren't over yet. Behind us, I could already hear the drunk and clumsy steps of the hunters climbing up the staircase behind us as they slowly regained their sight and their bearings.

At the top, my mum passed Harry back to Ashton who carried him carefully in his arms. I guess he wasn't ready to risk him falling from his back again whilst Harry couldn't see properly.

"This way, we better keep moving." Michael frowned, gritting his teeth.

We followed him, our group moving as quickly as possible through the trees. We couldn't run as fast as normal with my mum with us, but I was impressed by her speed. I guess she had been trained to keep up with people like us for years.

However, it wasn't long before I noticed Michael's condition waning once more, his run becoming more of a half limp as he began to slow. Eventually he let out a sharp groan, beginning to stumble and trip barely catching himself. He slowed to a stop. Our entire group stopped in concern, crowding around him.

"Mikey? You okay?" Calum questioned.

Michael didn't answer for a moment, as he clutched at his side and fell to his knees. He let out a few grunts in pain.

"Just leave me here Cal," Michael spoke, looking up at him with fearful eyes, "You guys run, get out of here. It shouldn't be far to the main road, I'll get back some other way."

I stared, what was Michael saying? We weren't just going to leave him here. I wasn't sure if we left him here that he'd even get back in this state. I quickly shook my head, Ashton doing the same. Emily was hovering hesitantly biting her lip. My mum stood back but looked uncertain.

Calum blinked, kneeling beside him, "No way Mikey, we didn't just go through all of that just to leave you here. You’re going to get better-"

"Go!" He yelled. "Now Cal, get everyone out of here."

"Not without you."

Then I heard the long and loud howl echoing through the trees. Everyone's head looked up searching around us and each other. I guess it hadn't been any of us. We exchanged glances and my heartbeat began to quicken.

"We're not alone." Ashton frowned.

I gasped as I noticed a new group of hunters were emerging from the distant trees around us. How many were there? Then I saw a line of wolves with glowing golden eyes appear beside them. My breath caught, were the wolves helping them?

Worse, we were about to be surrounded.

"Got any more flares?" Ashton questioned to my mother.

She shook her head, "No, I'm all out now."

"Cal, are they like us?" I questioned, as I viewed the newcomers hesitantly. I didn't recognise faces or scents, so I wasn't sure.

"I think so, but somehow I don't think they're here to help." Calum frowned his eyes cautious on the group on newcomers.

Werewolves helping hunters? What were things coming to? How had they changed so quickly? I'd known they wanted Michael, and I to join them but there were so many. How had they convinced so many werewolves to be here tonight?

My eyes locked on one person though, I was almost surprised not to see him among the werewolves, but he remained in his human form. Finn was here, clearly not scared off by Calum’s actions. I wasn't sure how he’d gathered so many wolves, but I couldn’t help but think that he was also responsible for this like Mikayla.

"Is that Finn?" I questioned, hoping for some affirmation by the others.

"Yeah, I think so." Ashton nodded, frowning.

Michael let out a groan, "No way. Hasn't he caused enough trouble tonight?"

"Apparently not." Calum sighed, before his gaze turned to Emily, "Em, if you have something more to offer about who or what we're up against, now would be the time." Calum frowned at her, as the wolves snarled at us exposing their teeth. I wondered if we should shift, but then again, I was worried about those in our group who couldn't. Judging by Michael's state I wasn't even sure if he'd be able to shift either, he looked a little weak.

"We're not sure. This is the first time Mikayla's shown herself to us." Emily replied. "But I've got no idea why Finn's here? Perhaps he's working with them?"

My mum nodded, her voice slightly out of breath, "The only clue we have is the Shadow Wolf Emily saw when she was captured. Though now it seems the hunters are involved too..."

"Oh yeah, Pip said she saw the Shadow Wolf when she told us you were missing." I explained.

"Of course." Emily's eyes seemed to widen, "Look, I know that this isn't the time to ask. But how is Pip? Do you know? Have you heard from her?"

"Yeah, she's okay." I nodded, I was surprised she hadn't asked about her earlier, "She found us just after you were taken."

"Apparently, my mums taking care of her." Calum added.

"Good," She nodded. She sucked in a deep breath. "You remember what I said about it being bad that the four of you were here?"

"Uh, yeah." Calum shrugged, "But it doesn't matter this is what we set out to do, rescue you guys."

Emily half smiled at Calum, though I could see the sadness in her eyes, "What they plan to do, it will destroy everything for people like us. Especially for the four of you. Michael’s right Cal, you guys need to go."

"Em, what are you talking about?" Calum frowned, as he viewed her in disbelief.

"Go, run. Please." Emily demanded, "Just leave me here, I'll hold them off long enough for you all to get out of here."

"What no?"

"You heard me, get Mikey out of here, guys." Emily yelled back. "I estimate you have about one minute before we're completely surrounded. Get out of here while you can, or we're all in danger."

I looked around during our conversation, the group of hunters and werewolves had only grown closer. Though true to Emily's word I could see a shrinking gap in the hunters to the right of us. I could see her point, but I didn't want to run, these people weren't going to quit anytime soon. I was starting to get the awful feeling that no matter how much we ran they would still find us, and if they didn't then the Shadow Wolf would.

"Go." Emily repeated, as her eyes illuminated with golden as she turned away from us breaking into a run as she headed towards the closest group of hunters. Her form changing into that of a wolf.

"What are you doing?" Calum yelled, his hand reaching out towards her. "Heck, what is she doing?"

"I don't know, but we're getting out of here, Cal." Ashton frowned, "You heard what she said."

Our group was silent for a moment. I didn't like the idea of leaving Emily, but I also knew she wouldn't have run off like that without reason. If we were caught it would ruin everything.

"I know." Calum frowned, he extended his hand to Michael, "Think you can run a bit longer?"

Michael nodded solemnly, "I can try."

"Mum, you'll be okay?" I turned to her.

She nodded. "I'll try to keep up."

With a quick nod our group started into a run. I kept pace with Ashton and Calum as my mother and Michael ran right behind us.

Then I heard a painful howl echo through the trees. At first, I thought it was Michael, but my eyes went straight to the direction Emily had been headed in, as I continued to run I saw the large group of hunters and wolves surrounding her. I could hear the loud yelps as the group of wolves fought. I could only hope she was holding her own.

I wondered whether we should turn back and go in and help. Yet she had wanted to go alone, so that we could escape. We couldn't leave Michael, there was still a group coming from the opposite direction. I heard a loud cry out in pain. Within the crowd I saw a wolf's form fall, and I saw her shift back her body motionless as the wolves feverishly crowded around her. I closed my eyes, no.

There was a collective gasp through the bond, as everyone seemed to realise what had happened. I sucked in a deep breath, we needed to get out of here now more than ever.

I realised with a twisting stomach the weight of what Emily had done, just so we could escape. Whatever fate she was trying to prevent must be bad to take that much of a risk. I silently hoped we would never find out what she had meant. Though her words ran around in circles in my head, ' _What they plan to do, it will destroy everything for people like us. Especially the four of you._ ' What had she meant by that? What would happen if we failed tonight?

Then I felt the painful headache in my skull, I let out a yelp. Hearing Michael make a similar noise. He was many meters behind us now, clearly having lost his pace. I turned back, the two of us exchanged frightened glances. Perhaps I hadn't lost my sense after all. The Shadow Wolf must be close. My eyes searched around looking for a sign of it, but all I could see was the group of hunters and werewolves behind us.

_'Uh, not to alarm anyone but-'_

Then I saw the flicker of red, as a large shadowed object dashed in the gap between Michael and the rest of us. My stomach tightened, and my heart beat quickened, noticing it's pulsing red eyes were glowing now much brighter than anytime I'd seen it before. It seemed to look between the two of us, before turning to seemingly block Michael's path.

Michael didn't seem to react like he usually would. I saw him slow to a stop, not even bothering to dodge around it. His legs were wobbly as he seemed to weaken falling to his knees. I searched the bond, but it felt shaky almost unstable. Something was up.

_'Shit.'_ Calum's voice rang clear through the bond, as he looked behind us,  _'Ash, you keep running and get Harry out of here. Luke and I will help Mikey.'_

_'You sure you guys will be okay?'_ Ashton turned to the two of us.

_'No, but this is the best we can do.'_ Calum spoke, I nodded as he glanced at me, already turning around. I did the same, as I ran beside him back in the direction of the Shadow Wolf.

My mum looked between the two of us stunned, "Boys what's wrong?"

I guess she wouldn't know, it was easy to forget that not everyone could communicate the way we could. She followed our gaze and gasped. "That's it isn't it?"

"Mum go with Ashton." I nodded and told her, "He'll find you guys a safe way out of here."

She looked hesitant but nodded. She hurried to catch up with Ashton who was waiting for her.

Calum and I exchanged glances and nodded at one another. Calum's eyes glowed with golden and he shifted, I did the same. The two of us running side by side.

_'You take left, I'll take right.'_ Calum instructed as we grew close.  _'As you run past it, dig your claws into its surface if you can. It should weaken or at least distract it. Whatever you do, don't let it scratch you.'_

I knew exactly what he meant by that, we still weren't a hundred percent sure what was happening to Michael.

_'Anything else?'_

_'Don't die.'_ Calum answered seriously as he started to take off towards the right.

I frowned, not the easiest instruction, but I was hoping to stick to it.

I raced my way around the left side of the wolf. I raised my paw up to the side of the wolf and I dug my claws into the Wolf's flesh, causing the wolf to let out an almighty roar in pain. Thrashing about as it usually did. As I rounded the corner I could see that Michael was down, his head was tilted upwards, but he was lying flat on the ground coughing and spluttering his face pale.

His eyes locked on me,  _'Luke, you have to get out of here.'_ Then his eyes moved in the opposite direction, _'Calum, you too? Guys go, you heard Emily.'_

It was then that I began to feel the crushing weight of the Shadow Wolf's powers trying to pull me down and prevent me from reaching Michael. It was odd for a moment, there was not much more movement other than its howls from the Shadow Wolf, it was as if it was waiting for something. I narrowed my eyebrows, at least in that time I should be able to get Michael out of here.

As fast as I could manage under the conditions I dashed right across to Michael's side, pushing past the crushing weight of the Shadow Wolves powers trying to pull me down. I thought of what I had done saving Lewis at the dance. Perhaps the same thing would work here?

_'Do you think you can grab onto my fur? I'll get you out of here.'_

Michael nodded weakly, and I bent so that he could grab on, feeling my throat tighten as Michael pulled himself onto my back. I was running out of time; the wolf's poison was affecting me too. Most of all where was Calum?

I looked over in the direction that he had been coming from. I could see him, the Shadow Wolf's paw kept coming down on him like a hammer blocking his path everywhere he tried to go. I frowned, the wolf's paws were stopping Calum from reaching us.

I guess that wasn't going to work. I turned back in the direction I had come. I leaped off my hind legs, then I saw it. The big dark shadowy paw coming down right in front of me. I slowed my face, coming to a halt just as it crashed in front of me. I decided to dodge around it, but it continued to drop its paw directly in front of me blocking my path. I kept looking for any opening, but it was faster, and my vision was becoming blurry.

I came to the horrible realisation that I was trapped and running out of time. My head began to spin, and I collapsed onto the ground rolling onto my side. I heard a loud yelp and felt Michael fall from my back. Then we were both their coughing side by side. I felt myself lose a grip on my wolf form as I shifted back into a human. It was happening all over again just like that day. Though this time Alex wasn't here to save me.

I guess I didn't mind if I didn't survive. I'd be with Emily I guess. Though I'd failed Calum on the one thing I promised. I hadn't even managed to get Michael out of here.

_'Dammit Ash, we're all surrounded.'_ Calum spoke, through the bond. ' _You know what we need to do.'_

Then I heard strong howls, echoing all around. I could sense that Ashton felt close still and growing closer, I guess he hadn't taken Calum's orders after all. I felt a strangled howl rise in my throat despite my lack of wolf form, calling out to the others. I heard Michael beside me too, his howl much stronger than my own.

I felt the ground shake beneath my feet, like mini earthquakes. I could faintly see the Shadow Wolf moving and jerking around as it let out howls. What was happening?

I barely managed to roll over making out Michael, pale and coughing beside me. He was pale and sweating, his lips turning blue.

"Should have left me," Michael spoke weakly, as our eyes met.

"None of us were leaving anyone Mikey." I replied, my voice almost out of breath. "We already lost Emily."

"I know.” He spoke as he reached for my hand that was only a few meters from my own. "Just stay with me okay, you can't leave."

"Don't leave me either." I whispered back, I barely saw Michael nod back and the flash of red as my vision faded. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this chapter ended up being a lot sadder and more intense than I planned it. .-.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


	36. Alone Together

"Come on Luke, stay with us." I hear a voice Michael's I think. It seems to echo. He lets out a long-frustrated sigh, "Dammit, Cal. He's not waking up."

The ground is cold and foreign beneath me. I can feel a weight in my hands and hear hurried breathing from beside me. A wave of panic and fear stems through the bond. It stuns me, was this all coming from Michael?

"Stay calm, Mikey okay. Listen, you can still hear his heart beating." I hear Calum reply, his words seeming to echo as well. "He's going to be fine."

"I was right there with him, why am I awake and he isn't?" Michael answered, "Cal, I'm seriously starting to worry. He should've woken up hours ago."

"I know, to be honest. I am too."

There's silence for a moment and I can sense the fear from them both. Through the bond I sense their thoughts moving so quickly that I can barely catch them like passing cars on a highway. I try to open my eyes, give them any sign that I'm awake but my lids feel heavy and my body doesn't seem to want to cooperate with my thoughts. I scream out to them mentally through the bond, but they don't seem to hear me.

"In any case. How's Ash?" Michael asks.

"Him and Harry are both a little worse for wear, but I think they're okay." I hear Calum's voice. "They're both asleep now."

I was glad to hear Ashton and Harry were okay. Even though they hadn’t mentioned my mother, at least we hadn't lost anyone else. Michael and Calum's talk worried me, how long had I been out of it for that they were that worried about me? I couldn't even tell. Though, where were we?

I willed my eyes open, blinking in surprise when they did. I saw Michael sitting beside me, he had his eyes closed hands in mine and he was pale, his hand felt clammy in mine. His fading red hair was a tousled mess and his wound was visibly bleeding more than ever.

My eyes caught on the thick metal bars surrounding the two of us. Everything else I could see was dark, I blinked my eyes adjusting to the light. He'd been talking to Calum, so the others had to be close. I focused my hearing catching onto their distant heartbeats. I turned finding Calum facing Michael through the other side of the bars. The exhaustion was evident in his eyes, they were swollen dark shadows underneath as though he hadn't slept much. His clothes were filthy dirty and there was still a leaf caught in the back of his hair. Though why was he separate from us?

"Luke!" Michael yelled, his green eyes wide as he dragged my attention back to him.

My head was a little woozy, but I turned to see his wide green eyes smiling back at me. I grinned back, I was so glad to see him alive considering the state we'd been in. Before I knew what was happening I was pulled into a giant hug. Then I heard Michael wince his hand falling to his side as he pulled away. I jumped back nervous remembering his wound.

He simply chucked, "Perhaps I shouldn't have done that. But heck I was so worried and-what you did for me back there was stupid but incredible-"

"Luke?" I heard a voice from behind us.

I turned behind me, my eyes meeting with Calum's this time. He grinned at me from the bars, his face stained with a thin line of blood. "Luke. You're finally awake."

I nodded before I wriggled forwards, facing him. I yelped, as I felt the sting of the bars against my knee. I pulled my knee back towards me, it smouldered for a moment before healing. I frowned looking between Calum and Michael.

"Wolfsbane." Michael and Calum both echoed at the same time.

My stomach twisted as I thought of the hunters. I looked around us realising we were back where we'd started at the cellar below the cabin. We hadn't made it out of here after all. Though the hunters or the Shadow Wolf clearly hadn't decided to kill us either. Both Mikayla and Emily's words circled in my brain.

"I'll go wake up Ash and your mum. They'll be glad to know your awake." Calum grinned disappearing into the apparent darkness.

"What did I miss?" I frowned turning back to Michael, before gesturing around us, "Have we figured out what all this is about?"

Michael let out a long sigh and he shook his head. "Some hunters and Finn's messed up idea we think. Though we can't seem to work out why they'd keep the two of us separated from everyone else."

I frowned that last part bothered me, it was the two of us again. My mind thought back to a few months ago, was it all that over again. Did a hunter decide that they wanted to train us again? Somehow after what we'd learned I couldn't help but wonder if it was more than that.

"But we have a treaty?" I raised an eyebrow, "The hunters shouldn't be able to do anything to us,"

"Not if they think we broke it." Michael shook his head, "Or if there's a rebel amongst their ranks."

"But we haven't done anything?" I protested,

Michael nodded, "That's why I think it's the second option, or someone's made up a very good story about us."

I sighed, thinking over his words. If that was the case then the treaty had been useless. It was supposed to be the thing that protected us, the thing that stopped stuff like this happening. Maybe I'd been a fool to believe in it. We all had.

I looked over at Michael, his shirt was ripped, the blood stain on it much more evident than it had been. I sniffed the air the coppery scent of blood apparent. My eyes fell on Michael's arm as I noticed a strange band aid, like the one that my mother, Emily and Harry had on their arms earlier. Then I noticed the one on my own. My stomach twisted, what had happened?

"Cal says they took some blood from each of us." Michael grimaced, noticing my stare, "I have no idea what for though."

I frowned, not liking the sound of that either. Especially when I didn't even know about it. I was starting to get very suspicious as to what the true purpose was behind all this. Why would they need to take everyone's blood?

"In any case it's a full moon tonight." Michael frowned, "We're worried they're keeping us here for something to do with that."

I bit my lip, I guess I'd been asleep longer than I thought. It was already the next day. With Alex's help I'd only been passed out for a few hours last time I'd faced the shadow wolf. This time I’d had to heal completely on my own. No wonder Michael and Calum had been so worried. Though I had to agree that it seemed odd to pull us together like this on the night of a full moon.

It was then that Calum re-emerged, with Ashton by his side and my mother following him. A look of relief came across both their faces as their eyes landed on me. I guess they had been worried about me.

"Luke, thank goodness you're okay." Ashton smiled, though it quickly faded a moment later. Ashton's wounds were healed but there was still slight evidence of blood and dirt on his face and clothes.

I surveyed the group on the other side of the bars, my mum's face was battered and bruised. She had her ankle held at a weird angle, she looked exhausted as she smiled weakly back at me. As I squinted into the darkness I could see Harry slept somewhat soundly on the ground behind them though a thin scar line ran across the small boys' face. My eyes searched for Emily, but my heart sunk remembering she was gone. Unlike mine, her sacrifice to help us get out of here had been in vein.

Though as I looked around, I wondered if mine trying to save Michael had done us much good either.

_Michael is still alive and so are you_ , I reminded myself, it hadn't been totally in vein. We just still needed a way to get out of here.

"Anyway, now that we're all awake. I think we need to work out a plan. To put it simply. We're all in a lot of danger." Calum frowned, "You know, if you didn't already figure that out."

I nodded, I had figured that out quite some time ago. Emily's words circled in my head once more.

"Well for starters did we work out who the Shadow Wolf is yet?" Michael questioned, "I mean it was right there with us? Cal you must've seen something."

Calum shook his head, "The hunters and the wolves surrounded the rest of us and brought us back here. I don't know a lot else, I didn't see them shift back." He sighed, "My only guess would be Mikayla or Finn."

I nodded, I now suspected both were involved. Though the more I thought of it I didn’t think either of them were the Shadow Wolf. Finn for starters had been with me in the forest and I just couldn't see Mikayla being a werewolf. She despised people like us. I wracked my brain thinking of the files and the photo we'd seen. I didn't think she was like Michael and me who had been involved in the hunter's experiments. I couldn't remember seeing her name or a younger version of her in the photos though it would be hard to tell.

Not that either of them still couldn’t be the wolf.

"Mikayla hates wolves though." I frowned. "Besides she's a hunter and a dedicated one at that."

"Well it's got to be Finn then, like we thought all along." Ashton added.

"But he was next to me that day. I think he's involved but it's not him." I shook my head.

"Then who?" Michael questioned.

I felt everyone's eyes on me now. They must think I had someone in mind. I chewed on my lip. Who besides them could hate us that much to pull something like this?

"Wow, you boys are closer than I thought." I heard someone speak. I jumped exchanging glances with the others, but the dark room around us was empty, "I mean those are some great guesses. Finn and Mikayla have both been of excellent help to me."

I saw glowing golden eyes a distance away on the other side of the bars, they changed to red a moment later. I blinked a few times my eyes adjusting to the light. I could make out the shape of a person. The way their hair sat in the shadows and the way they held themselves was all so familiar. Then it occurred to me exactly who this was. Who the Shadow Wolf was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I didn't originally intend to end this chapter here, but I think it works best like this. :D
> 
> Thanks for reading. ^^


	37. Dread Rising

"Mei!?" I growled. I noticed the horrified looks around me, as everyone realised what I did. If no one else had recognised her before, they certainly did now.

Even in the relative darkness I saw her grin, as she moved closer towards us. Then I realised everything, all those hints all those clues, she'd be baiting us this entire time. We'd all even spoken of her odd scent and how curious it had been that she could make her eyes glow golden like we could when she said she wasn't a werewolf. Then my heart stopped for a moment, as I remembered she'd been a hunter's experiment just like Michael and myself.

"It's you isn't it. You're the Shadow Wolf?" I spoke, my words filled with anger towards her, "I should've known you were leading us along this entire time. You wanted Michael and I to read those files."

"Nice work there, Sherlock." Mei smirked, "Besides, nothing was in them that wasn't the truth. You both had the right to know."

I sucked in a deep breath, choosing my next words carefully. I wasn't sure whether knowing the truth made these things any easier. How had she become like this? I thought of those polaroids in class that day. What did that mean for the two of us?

"You won't get away with this Mei, you're a hunter. Your bound by their rules, by our treaty." Michael growled, and I saw my mother nod her eyes wide with concern.

Mei smiled, and I began to fear the worst. She didn't seem to care about that. She seemed to know that she was getting away with this. The main hunter who I now knew would fight for us was sitting across the bars from me. I had a bad feeling that we'd be dead before anyone who cared knew. By then it would be too late for any of us.

"Well you see for starters you're no longer on your territory." She shrugged, "and I have split myself from the hunters now anyway."

"As have I." Mikayla spoke, appearing from beside Mei as she lifted her hood, "The hunters have grown soft." Her eyes fell on my mother. "Your son deserves to be punished for his actions, not given clemency."

"Come on girls." My mother spoke, "Be realistic, you both know the hunters will come for you when they realise what you have done. Back down now before it's too late."

"You have no idea what those people did to me." Mei growled, moving closer to the bars and meeting my mother's eyes, they glared at one another, Mei seeming to challenge her "I have no loyalty to hunters or werewolves. As I am neither."

"Neither have I." Mikayla declared, "The hunters no longer understand the true danger of common wolves. Wolves like Mei are going to fix this."

My mother shook her head. "Your logic is all wrong, both of you."

"Don't you see, she's killed people. Who knows how many werewolves have died because of her?" Calum protested. "Sam, Emily..."

Mikayla shrugged, "We're hunters that's what we're supposed to do, Alpha. This is exactly my point, the four of you should've been eradicated ages ago. The hunters have grown soft by even allowing you to exist, especially after what you did to that poor girl. Sophie was it?"

Calum's eyebrows narrowed. I could hear the low growl rising in his throat. "Leave her out of this." He growled, placing his hands on the bars, his eyes glowing with golden. He let out a yelp as he jerked back from the bars his hands smouldering from the wolfsbane. Despite the obvious pain he continued to growl. 

Mikayla and Mei laughed seemingly amused. Calum let out another low growl, his eyes glowing with golden as he glared them down. I'd hate to think what he would've done if there wasn't a bar between them and him.

"Cal, it's okay." Ashton spoke, pulling him back from the bars. "They're just trying to work you up."

"I know, it doesn't mean it still doesn't hurt though. I know their right." Calum responded, his hand trembling. "I've killed someone before too. How am I any different from her?"

"It was an accident." I spoke quietly through the bars, "You know that, we all know that."

Michael nodded, "You were trying to save her, from a life of pain Cal. You're completely different."

Calum nodded, "I know guys it's just-"

"Or shall I mention your other friend, that Alpha girl Emily? You let her die too." Mikayla added interrupting Calum.

I gulped, a lump rising in my throat. The four of us exchanged glances we all considered ourselves responsible for that. I still wondered what would've happened if we'd tried harder to stop her or tried to help. We were caught in the moment and we'd believed her.

"She made her choice." Calum spoke quietly, "She just wanted to help us."

Calum's words hung in the air for a moment. Mikayla and Mei exchanged glances.

"My point is you have a lot of blood on your hands too," Mikayla added.

There was silence among the group. We couldn't defend that. She was right that we weren't exactly innocent either.

"How are you any different? At least Mei's doing this for the right reasons." Mikayla countered.

There was no way Mei was doing anything for the right reasons. Yet, the words stung. We'd let so many people close to us get hurt lately we weren't much better.

"It's okay, your little friend Emily served her purpose at least." Mei smiled, as she pulled a small half-empty vial from her pocket. I raised an eyebrow. What was that?

"What's this you must be wondering?" She smirked, holding it up into the dim light coming from behind her. "This is the thing that's just changed everything. You know I should really be thanking you guys for this. Your blood has given me the ability to do something I've wanted for a very long time." She looked around, "Now Finn, where are you?"

Finn appeared from behind her, he smiled warmly as if he was here for a happy gathering than whatever this was. So, the three of them really were working together after all. We'd suspected all along, especially after I'd found that notebook of his that had lead me right into Mei's trap. Yet because it had been made clear he wasn't the Shadow Wolf I'd almost forgotten their connection thinking it was little more than a coincidence. 

"Hey guys, did you miss me?" He smirked, seemingly amused, his eyes falling over to us, "Even behind those bars do you still think you made the right choice Calum?"

Calum glared at him for a moment, seeming to consider his next words carefully. The longer he was silent the wider Finn's smile grew. 

"I know I did Finn, at least I know my pack are loyal to me. Unlike your new friends." Calum answered, "I don't follow Shadow Wolves around like a little lost puppy."

Finn simply smiled at Calum's words, they didn't seem to affect him. Finn gave us one final glance before turning away from us. He raised his hand out to Mei.

"You ready?" Mei questioned.

He nodded obediently his eyes glowing with golden. Both him and Mei stood there for a moment, she rose an eyebrow at him. Nothing happened. He looked down at his hands, bemused. He tilted his hands back and forth, before seeming to throw himself forwards. I realised by his actions that he was trying to shift.

"Wait, Finn. What's happening? Why can't you shift?" She blinked.

He shook his head, "I have no idea what's happening?" He tried again, and again but nothing else seemed to come out of it.

Mei tapped her foot impatiently. Even Mikayla looked to be growing tired. Beside me I could see a smug grin on Calum's face. I raised an eyebrow.

Finn's eyes locked on Calum, shooting him a glare "Wait, it was you."

Everyone's eyes went to Calum who was still grinning. Noticing us all staring he quickly closed his mouth putting on a blank expression. I wondered if what Calum had done to Finn last night was the problem. Somehow because of that Finn couldn't shift. I noticed Ashton give Calum a sneak high-five.

"No matter, it should still work whilst your human." Mei smiled, passing the vial to Mikayla who nodded. Mei's claws extended as her eyes glowed with a crimson red.

She struck her claws directly into his exposed hand. Finn gasped falling to his knees. Clutching at where Mei had struck him. He let out a painful yelp, as thick black smoke began to billow from the wound on his palm. His eyes glowed with golden shifting to a crimson colour as Mei's were. Then all at once he started coughing his eyes shifting back to their usual colour. His skin paled dramatically as if all the life was being sucked out of him.

"What the hell?" He gasped his lips turning blue.

Finn was clearly struggling as the thick shadowy smoke began to engulf him whole as he began to cough and splutter. I shuffled away from the bars fearful as to what would happen next. I exchanged a frightened glance with Michael for a moment. Finn began to scream and howl painfully. What was happening to him?

Then smoke cleared, he stood breathing heavily for a moment claws exposed, and his eyes clouded with a dark tinge. Then they fluttered as he collapsed onto the ground with a loud thud. He didn't move again.

Mei raised a concerned eyebrow and leaned beside him seeming to take his pulse. As much as I hated Finn these days I was concerned.

"Too weak." Mei muttered. Mikayla frowned but nodded.

Mei frowned, picking herself up from the ground. "No matter, that was just a test." Her eyes rested on Calum for a moment. "He was weak anyway. His strength was drained by another werewolf last night."

I knew the other werewolf was Calum, he'd done something to Finn last night. Drained his powers? Weakened him? It was hard to tell. Yet, all I knew now was that Finn was gone. I looked around the faces of the others. Michael and Calum's expressions were blank, but Ashton and my mother were horrified.

I wondered what would've happened if Finn hadn't been weakened by Calum. Would he have become a Shadow Wolf like Mei? Did that mean Mei now had the power to make more Shadow Wolves had that been what the meant about the vial giving her the ability to do something she had always wanted? I was reminded of what had happened to Sophie, her body had rejected it. Is that what we'd just watch happen to Finn? I shivered at the thought. 

Mei's eyes were resting on Michael and me now. "That's alright I still have the two of you."

Fear struck in my stomach,  my heart beat quickened as I realised what Mei was intending. She seemed to want more Shadow Wolves didn't she?

Mikayla walked over and opened up our side of the bars. "Come on, out you get." She spoke as if we were merely animals in her eyes.

I glanced over at Michael, who was pale and trembling. My eyes flickered to my mother, Ashton and Calum who were seated on the other side of the bars. Ashton and my mother were both shaking their heads, but Calum nodded solemnly.

"Hurry up." Mikayla spoke, "Before I drag you both out myself."

_'It's okay, Luke.'_ Michael thought, though his voice was doubtful,  _'We'll work something out, trust me.'_

I nodded at him. Though I couldn't help but think that these were our last moments. Michael stood, his movements wobbly. I stood too, reaching to grab him. I allowed him to use my shoulder as support as we walked towards the opening. Helping him was difficult, he was less mobile than I remembered. He'd become worse these last few hours, the wound still affecting him. I wasn't sure he'd survive whatever hell Mei was about to put us through, just like Finn had.   Finn except for not being able to shift had looked fairly healthy. He barely looked as though he could put up a fight as he had when we'd escaped. 

"Alright, what is it that you need?" I spoke forcefully, stopping in front of Mei and meeting her gaze. Although from the outside I was confident, I was anything but. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so not ready to post this chapter oh my god..... D: 
> 
> So at least we know who the Shadow Wolf is now right? Did you expect it to be her?
> 
> I actually wrote the draft of the final chapter the other day and discovered I'm not ready for this to end at all. There's still another few chapters until the end though. :)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading. ^^


	38. The Moon Falls

  
"What is it that you need?" I repeated, glancing around noticing the group of hunters that now blocked every entrance and exit point. I hadn't been able to see them from our previous spot. I frowned, realising that our chances of getting out of here were slim. We were totally outnumbered.

Michael beside me nodded.

Mei sighed, though a slight smile played on her face as she looked at us, "Wow, I thought you two would at least put up a fight. Kind of takes the fun out of this you know."

I internally shivered, wondering what she wanted and expected us to do now.

"We're tired Mei." Michael spoke glaring at her, as he stopped leaning on me. He was now standing on his own as he gestured towards his wound, "I know you did this, and I know that it's what's making me sick."

Mei looked stunned, and for a moment I thought I even saw a look of genuine sympathy in her eyes. "In that case then, let me help."

She walked forwards, her hand raised. I raised a cautious eyebrow at Michael, but his eyes were directly on Mei. Suddenly Michael smirked, grabbing her wrist and twisting it. She winced her eyes wide with alarm. She pushed back on him, their strength seemingly matched.

"Come on, you thought I'd give up without a fight? You obviously don't know me then." Michael grinned, meeting her gaze as they held each other’s arm, neither one removing their grip from the other.

"You're a dead man, Clifford." Mei narrowed her eyebrows, the two of them struggling against one another, "You have no reason left to fight."

"That's where you're mistaken." I growled at her, I spoke grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back. She let out a gasp, as I pushed her towards the floor. Michael nodded at me seemingly impressed, though I could see the fading red mark on his arm from where Mei had grabbed him back.

"You want a fight huh?" She smiled, pulling herself from the ground her eyes glowing fierce red. I stepped back frightened for a moment, she was deadly. She would only need to shift into the Shadow Wolf again and Michael and I would be back in the position we'd been last night. I doubted my ability to take her on. Even without being the Shadow Wolf, she was a trained hunter, sure Michael had trained me in some things a few months ago when we'd been on the run, but I was still learning and had hardly needed those sorts of skills in recent times.

Seeming to notice my hesitation Michael swung his leg out catching her foot, she wobbled for a moment. Righting herself in a blur of movement. I blinked, she was much quicker than both of us. I saw a flicker of movement, her crimson eyes and suddenly I felt the weight on my chest as I was pushed backwards, skittering across the rough slate flooring. Michael landed a few meters away moments later. He let out a howl.

Mei's eyes narrowed on us, as I tried to stand. Then my skull started throbbing in pain, the same way it did when the Shadow Wolf was close by. I put my hand to my head, it was much stronger this time. My knees felt weak and gave way beneath me as I attempted to stand. The two of us let out loud roars in pain.

Mei grinned, as her hands grew into sharp claws, she walked straight past me her eyes on Michael. I wanted to move, I wanted to stop her but the pain in my skull was just too much. Michael pulled away from her with gritted teeth. Mei kneeled, reaching and running her claws along the existing wound on Michael's side. I gasped as I hear Michael yelp, his form immediately crumpling completely as he cried out in pain. He grasped at where she had clawed him. Mei smirked moving away from him.

"Mikey?" I asked, in a whisper feeling the pain leave my skull.

Michael just shook his head, his teeth gritted. He moves his hand and I noticed a black mist rising from the wound that had now completely re-opened on his side. There's a collective gasp from everyone in the room. We'd just seen what she'd done to Finn, it seemed she'd done the same thing to him too.

"Shit." He muttered, he looked up at me before his gaze turned up to Mei, his expression murderous.

Mei seemed to grin at this, "Sorry, my claws must've slipped."

Michael growls, trying to stand but falls his legs giving way beneath him. The mist rising from the wound only increases. What had she done? I growled, trying to stand up, but my vision wavers slightly and I fall to my knees. I wasn't healing fast enough from last night.

Mei's powers had been strong before when she was a Shadow Wolf but even as a human she could seemingly render us useless. It must've been that vial, I think it had made her more powerful and perhaps even able to turn others into Shadow Wolves like her. That had been what she’d always wanted to do, hadn’t it?

I crawl my way towards Michael, as I reach my hand out to him uncertain if I'd make it to him as I felt dizzy and faint the pain in my skull growing more by the second.

"She's right I'm dead Luke." Michael winced our eyes and hands meeting. There was a solemn look in his eyes, he'd given up. I could see it in them.

I couldn't speak, I shook my head feeling tears welling in my eyelids. What Mei had just done was going to kill him or worse. I could sense Mei watching us, not moving to attack me. I knew this was my chance to stop her. But, I wanted to stay with him. I felt responsible for this somehow, maybe if I fought a little harder then we could've beaten this. I couldn't bear to look over at Calum and Ashton, the pain I sensed through the bond was enough. No one wanted to accept what was happening.

"Luke..." Michael spoke, his darkening green eyes sympathetic and his voice already sounding weak as he squeezed my hand. "It's okay, I think it was going to happen anyway. Perhaps it's probably better this way."

"It's not-" I spoke, I could feel the tears streaming down my cheeks now. I knew we were going to have to say goodbye. I wasn’t ready to lose him, it was too soon.

_‘Mikey, I’m so sorry.’_ I faintly heard Calum speak, though the grief was evident in his tone.

I didn’t hear Michael reply, but he weakly looked over in Calum and Ashton’s direction giving him a weak nod. I tried to ignore the smoked shadowy substance leaking from his wound. I wished there was a way to stop it, to save him but I knew there would be no miracles this time.

"Well I was actually hoping for another Shadow Wolf." Mei shrugged, standing behind us. I’d been so shocked I’d almost forgotten that she was still here, "I guess you’re just not strong enough either because I scratched you before I took the solution. Unless- “

"Unless what?" Michael growled.

I turned to see Mei’s eyes moving between us. I could see a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. I wasn't sure I could trust whatever she was planning.

"I think I know how I can save you but only if Luke helps me." She explained.

I blinked turning back to her. "What?"

She turned and looked at me, "You have a choice, I can let the shadows continue to eat away at him. Yet, I know of a way that you might be able to help me save him. I’ll tell you if either one of you agrees to it.”

I considered her words carefully for a moment, could I really do something to change his fate?

Though from beside me Michael's eyes now glowed with a fierce golden, that contrasted with his paling skin, "Well I've made my choice, if this kills me then so be it. I'm not agreeing to anything" Michael looked to me, "Don't agree to anything she says Luke."

I knew what Michael was saying, we had no reason to trust Mei. She had a plan. Yet, there was a flicker of hope in the words she had said. Save Michael? Was their such a thing? I looked back, Michael was deathly pale now, thick clouds of shadowed smoke rising from his wound. While his irises weren’t tinged with the red colour that Finn’s had been, the greens and golden colours in them was dulling. It wouldn't be long until he was in the same state as Finn. I couldn't bear the thought of losing another friend tonight. I was still haunted by the memory of Emily's howls. I wasn't abandoning anyone else tonight without at least trying to save them.

"Sure, you might have decided but I haven't." I spoke, I sucked in a breath turning to her fiercely. "What do you want me to do, Mei?"

"Luke what the hell?" Michael looked over at me. I could see behind me the looks of my mother, Ashton, Calum were similar, their eyes wide with confusion. They all thought I'd say no. I guess they couldn't understand my reasoning. Surely there was a way to beat this if I just played her game for a little longer. Though I wondered if I was leaving things too late. I'd had my chance and I'd totally missed it.

"I'm not letting you die Mikey." I whispered to him.

"Luke you can't. She's tricking you. I’m not worth it." He yelled, tightening his grip on my hand but I was long past listening to him now. I used my strength to pull away from him shaking my head. This was what I had to do.

I stared Mei down. "What's your offer Mei?"

Mei looked genuinely stunned, I don't think she'd believed I'd agree to something like this so quickly. Yet, a smile returned to her face.

"Well you know what we are right? The three of us, we're the same remember? I led you onto it more than enough. You know what made me what I am. What I tried to do to Finn. If you let me try something. I know I can save him. I'll let all of your pack go too."

I realised what she was asking me. She wanted to see if I could become a Shadow Wolf as well. I knew what had happened to Finn, what was happening to Michael. My stomach twisted, was that worth saving the others but sacrificing myself? I wasn't even sure if it would work. I shook my head, if Michael died then I had a feeling she'd just do the same thing to me anyway. At least this way I was agreeing to help the others. I looked around the room there was no way I could escape or get the others out in time on my own. Besides I was supposed to be dead by now. Every moment I'd spent as a werewolf was on borrowed time. Calum had saved my life all those months ago. If this was what it took to save everyone, it was worth everything I had. I could only hope that I didn't become a monster like her for it.

"Alright." I nodded.

_'Luke think about what you're doing.'_ Calum's voice told me.  _'You're either going to die or become like her.'_

_'You can't stop me.'_ I thought back.

I could feel Calum's shock as I blocked the bond out and the emotions that came with it. I knew what they were thinking and feeling. I’m pretty sure they thought I was insane and perhaps I was.

"Alright, do what you need to." I spoke choosing my words carefully.

She nodded and a moment later. Her form was changing, as she shifted into the Shadow Wolf. I bit my lip, uncertain. Why had I agreed to this? This had been the one thing I'd been so afraid of this entire time. Shaking my head, I sucked in a deep breath. She walked before me her teeth exposed, her eyes a crimson red. She raised her paw, placing it in my hand, the claw scratched the surface of the skin in my palm. I let out a yelp, as I saw the shadowy substance rise from it.

"Luke no!" I heard Michael yell from beside me.

It was too late though, nothing happened for a moment. Then I saw the shadowy smoke rising from my hand the way that Finn and Michael's wound had been. The substance seemed to bubble, slowly encasing my fingertips and my entire hand, engulfing me in its shadowy grip. My entire body was burning, as if filled with flames. I gritted my teeth. Shifting was nothing compared to this.

I could see the Mei's wolfy grin, and I managed a single glance at Michael who was clutching at his stomach, the shadows beginning to grow. His eyes now glowing a crimson red. Had she lied? Whatever was happening to me was now engulfing him too.

My stomach tightened, I had to hope this would work both of us depended on it. It wasn't just about me anymore. I wasn't alone, and this wasn't just my sacrifice anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geez, another tough chapter to post! There is about two more chapters left in this book and I should hopefully have some special announcements to make at the end of the next one. ^^
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! :D


	39. Hold On

My thoughts twisted as the shadows began to engulf me. I could hear strangled painful howls surrounding me as I felt dark thoughts race and grow in my mind, trying to control me. Trying to make me into something I wasn't.

Yet, this had been exactly the moment I was waiting for.

I closed my eyes, drawing on something that I was only just beginning to understand. The words of that old journal came to me and I heard sharp gasps from around me, as I stopped blocking out the bond and was flooded with a sense so new to me. I stared her down as I felt the howl rise in my chest, my entire body growing numb. All I could see was bright light around me, as I felt a surge of warm energy spread. It was like shifting but much more powerful.

I looked to my hand, that was glowing with white, and spreading. I felt a pain in my body, and I curled over letting it engulf me. When I opened my eyes again, I realised that I had shifted, but somehow it felt wrong. I frowned, I'd become the thing I'd tried to stop, then hadn't I? It hadn't worked. Cautiously, I looked down at my paws they were blonde still but glowing with a soft white light. I let out a sharp gasp. It was like how I had seen Calum before, but the light was stronger.

Slowly I tilted my head towards Michael's direction noting that there was a second glowing wolf in his place, eyes glowing with a fierce golden. Was that him?

 _'Mikey?'_ I questioned, silently wondering if all this was an illusion.

 _'Luke?'_ He questioned in response, the glimmering wolfs eyes meeting with my own.  _'What did you do?'_

I considered his words for a moment. What had I done exactly? It was difficult to say. So, I decided to tell him what I knew.

_'I think I gave us a chance of beating this, you in?'_

_'You bet,'_

Mei, as the Shadow Wolf was looking between the two of us, the fear was evident in her glowing red eyes.

_'What the heck, you're both supposed to be like me? I don't understand. They told me this would work.'_

_'You don't understand what we are, either.'_ I smirked at Mei,  _'I guess the three of us aren't that much like each other at all.'_ Then I added, 'I mean _at least Mikey and I have a pack.'_

_'So, do I?'_

I raised a confused eyebrow. She let out a long and fierce howl. It didn't split through my skull this time. Michael and I exchanged hesitant glances at one another. Did we try something now?

I didn't have time to think though. I gasped as I looked across from us noticing the glowing red eyes and the shadows rising from the wolves that were now flanking Mei. My stomach twisted, realising that she'd made dozens of Shadow Wolves before Finn. She must've known what would happen, no wonder she hadn't been disappointed. We were outmatched, there was so many of them.

I stepped back fearfully, no matter what Michael and I had managed to do there was no way we could beat that, there were far too many of them compared to us. While I was glad that it seemed neither of us had become Shadow wolves I had no idea if we could do anything compared to them. 

I heard the crunch of metal, and then two loud howls from behind us. I blinked, turning back to see that Calum’s eyes were glowing with golden as he stood with gritted teeth managing to open the bars. Somehow despite the wolfsbane he'd managed to split them open. His hands didn’t appear to be smouldering either. Ashton stepped out from behind him. I saw the slight white glow around them like earlier. My throat caught what had I done?

No, even more than that what had we done? It wasn't just about me anymore. 

In a matter of seconds everything was a mess of shadowy claws and fangs, as our two groups collided. Mei was easily recognisable, the largest of the Shadow Wolves. Though as both Ashton and Calum shifted behind us it occurred to me quickly that the four of us stuck out like sore thumbs against the dark shadowy nature of the other wolves.

I dodged and weaved through the attacking wolves, the only thing reassuring me that everyone was okay was the steady hum of the bond. I eventually found myself caught, a group of wolves had me cornered, I stepped back hesitantly only meeting more of the surrounding group.

I let out a loud howl, and I was amazed as the wolves directly in front of me whimpered seemingly being pushed backwards as I howled. I couldn't help but wonder if it was like the effect Mei had on us. I howled again, louder and more stringer this time, the red seemingly leaves their eyes as they began to change to golden. They bowed their head in submission before racing away. I could've sworn I saw a few of them shift back as they fled.

 _'Howl at them,'_ I called to the others, realising I was onto something,  _'I think it weakens them.'_

 _'Of course, just like Mei and Finn.'_ I hear Calum reply _, 'Guys, I have a plan then. Howl and weaken as many as you can, then we'll try for Mei.'_

There were mutters of agreement among the bond. Right now, I think that was the best plan. I looked around me as a new group of wolves approached, they bared their teeth seemingly unafraid of me. They howled back at me, as I had at the last group. I was pushed backwards by their howls as if there were a strong wind forcing me back. I realised that their power was like our own, I knew if I didn't act soon that it would weaken me. 

Instead, I narrowed my eyebrows, letting out a howl once more. I felt the force of the Shadow Wolves howls weaken in front of me, I could see them struggling to hold on, their howls dying out. Slowly their eyes began to shift colours, their forms losing their shadow like quality. They exchanged glances many looking frightened before dashing away as the previous group had.

I lost track of the howls, but I worked my way through the group. Some seemed to be catching on, howling back with as much ferocity as I did. I was surrounded by another group, that was particularly strong, finding my howl had little impact on them. Then there was a strong howl from beside me, as I was flanked on my left side by Ashton. I grinned at him as the two of us quickly overpowered them.

Our eyes searched the group. I saw a large group forming around Calum and Michael whose eyes were on Mei who had shifted back and was trying to escape with Mikayla in tow.

I realised that the other wolves were a distraction now. As long as Mei was a Shadow Wolf, things would never be peaceful.

 _'Guys, she's getting away.'_  I thought over to them.

Michael and Calum let out loud howls, sending the wolves in front of them ducking for cover. Side by side Ashton and I raced up the right of them, Mikayla and Mei seemed to notice picking up their pace as they raced up the staircase moving back outside. The four of us bounded up after them. The few remaining Shadow Wolves following us as we dashed into the light of the full moon above.

My lungs burned as I struggled to keep up with them, they were fast, as we raced through the trees. I looked around at the others, their auras still glowing with a whitish light, eyes still shining with a vibrant golden. Which was great and all, but we needed a plan.

 _'We need to corner them.'_ Calum instructed. ' _Just like before.'_

I quickly understood what he was intending for us to do. We wanted to weaken her again. I just hoped that the mixture she'd taken to strengthen her powers wouldn't render that ability useless.

There were quick mutters of agreement and leading the pack Calum dashed forward narrowly blocking the path in front of the two girls. Michael and I flanked them on each side as Ashton came up the rear. Mei blinked, turning and realising we had her trapped.

 _'You can't escape us Mei.'_  Calum growled.  _'You can't cause all of that destruction and leave unpunished.'_

Mei's eyes flickered with red, as Shadows began to rise from the surface of her skin,  _'I think you'll find that I can.'_

Now fully shifted into a Shadow Wolf Mei glared around at us. Her eyes glowed crimson red. I could feel my throat growing tight, though it didn't seem as strong as before. Mikayla huddled behind her looking frightened.

 _'Guys, howl again.'_  Calum instructed.

 _'But-'_  Ashton protested.

 _'We're stronger this time. Trust me. It'll work.'_ Calum nodded.

Ashton still looked a little uncertain, but he was the first to howl, the rest of us following suit a moment later. I could've sworn I saw the light growing brighter around each of us. I was blinded by it for a moment as Mei let out a strained yelp. Then I felt the force rebound onto us, as the area was immersed in a bright light. I was thrown backwards flying into the air and landing on the grass. Our howls subsided, and I felt a weird ringing through the bond.

Slowly I pulled myself up catching sight of both Ashton and Calum who were on either side of me. I looked across, finding Mei on her knees on the ground back in her human form, Mikayla was heavily breathing next to her.

 _'You'll pay Alpha.'_ She smirked at Calum, her eyes illuminating red for a second. I gasped, it hadn't worked. Though a moment later they dulled to gold before fading out. Mei glanced at her hands. 

"I can't shift!?" She yelled.

"What do you mean you can't shift?" Mikayla glared, "Shift, take care of them. Do what you always do…"

Mei shook her head her eyes narrowed on Calum and then the rest of us, _'What did you do to me?'_

Calum smiled shifting back as he pulled himself from the ground, he moved standing over Mei, "I remember a friend of yours telling me that power can be taken away. So, I guess it makes sense that a whole pack can drain yours, even if it's only temporarily."

Mei shot him a horrified glance. "Just who do you think you are?"

"We're simply saving you from yourself." Calum spoke, he looked around his eyes locking on something to the side of the forest, "Ah, right on time."

I blinked, confused following his gaze to where a group of people with bows and arrows were standing. Hunters? I thought they were against us? These ones seemed to be different though, as they walked straight past Calum forming a tight circle around the two girls.

 _'Come on guys, we're done here. Let's leave the hunters to their work.'_  Calum spoke, already walking back towards the direction we'd came.

I nodded shifting back, walking over towards where Ashton and Calum were now standing. Neither one still glowing. Though they paid no attention to me as they were grinning at something to the other side of them. Following their gaze, I found Michael, walking towards them his wound completely healed. The only evidence of what had been, the ripped stain on his shirt. I guess what we'd done had healed him. He wasn't dying anymore, I think he was going to be okay.

Calum raced forwards meeting Michael and pulling him into a giant hug, there were tears streaming down his cheeks within seconds as he sobbed in the other's arms. "You're okay." He kept muttering, "I can't believe you're okay."

"I'm okay." Michael nodded.

I could feel the tears building in my own eyes, we really had almost lost him. Calum turned back to both Ashton and I who were both watching awkwardly, beckoning us over. I soon found myself in a giant pack hug, it was warm and safe. I couldn't believe I'd been so close to losing all of this. I'm not sure how long we stayed like that for, in a crying, sobbing mess of a huddle but eventually someone pulled away.

"Luke, thank you." Michael spoke, a moment later, "I've got no idea what you just pulled back there but it worked."

I was tongue tied for a moment, feeling everyone's gaze on me. No one properly knew or understood what I had done. Not even me.

"Yeah, speaking of how the heck did you know how to do all of that?" Calum nodded. "I honestly thought we'd lost you, especially when you blocked us all out."

"I kind of read it in a book." I shrugged, my eyes meeting with Michael's who nodded. "Then, I thought about what you told us about being a bonded pack and being able to draw on each other's strength. I remembered something from when we'd been searching for the Shadow Wolf, about how it could transfer its abilities to others, so I knew exactly what she was trying to do. Other than that, I was just making things up as I went along Probably any of us could've done it." I shrugged.

"Not like that though." Ashton shook his head, with a serious expression, "Both of you were glowing. Almost like the opposite of shadow wolves."

"Light wolves?" Michael joked.

"Exactly like that." Ashton nodded.

"You know maybe that's just it, if Mei's abilities came from the experiments then that's where yours come from too?" Calum suggested.

"But I think it also had something to do with the pack too?" Michael questioned. "That would explain what happened to you guys too."

"I think so too, I think Ash and I gained the ability to do that through the two of you. Even to the point that I think if you'd both become Shadow Wolves, we would've in some way too." Calum spoke, shivering slightly, "This was what I was trying to talk to you about. We're not like ordinary werewolves."

"No kid." Michael chuckled, earning him a glare from Calum. Though honestly, I was just glad to see Michael smiling and making jokes again.

"What I'm trying to say is that the four of us are stronger as a pack and we're connected much more deeply than most. I started to notice something different once Luke joined us, but it wasn't until the other day when I started to embrace the fact that we are one that I truly realised what was happening. For generations Alpha's in my family have been able to create packs that can do so much more than an average pack. It allows us to do things that other packs can't, like drawing on each other's strengths and abilities. Sometimes it's known as a bonded or a golden pack. It's incredibly rare, but also dangerous." He sighed,

"That explains why Finn was calling you golden boy right?" Ashton nodded. "And what Mei was talking about using our blood to make herself stronger. Why Emily told us we needed to escape so badly."

Calum nods, "It explains everything now, more so than I ever thought."

With those words the four of us began, to walk back towards the cabin where I assumed my mother and Harry were still waiting. I hoped that nothing bad had happened to them during the fight, considering the way things had gone.

I sniffed the air, picking up the strong scent of hunters. As we walked down the stairs inside I found that much like outside a group of hunters had evidently stormed the building, surrounding the werewolves that had been hoarded up on the ground.

My eyes fell on my mum who was talking to a group of them, Harry sticking close to her side. Her eyes caught on us and she smiled beckoning us over. I exchanged glances with the others, and we moved over to join them.

Harry immediately latched onto Ashton, sticking close to him now rather than my mother. The hunters introduced themselves; and asked us a few questions as to what had happened. The four of us answered to the best of our abilities including answering questions about our pack itself. There was no malice in their expressions, I think they genuinely wanted to help and get to bottom of what had happened. I guess this was in their hands now.

My mother and Calum thanked them, and the group of hunters left moving towards the groups of captured Shadow Wolves and hunters that were being questioned in the room.

"How did they know?" Calum questioned with a stunned look, "How did they find us out here?"

My mum grinned, "Ash and I might have called some people last night. It's just taken them a while to get here I guess."

Ashton nodded. I blinked, Ashton had kept something like that a secret for that long? "I would've told you guys, but we weren't sure how much they knew, or if the hunters would even come."

"Better late than never." Calum sighed shaking his head. "An hour or two earlier and perhaps we could've prevented a lot of this."

"At least they came." Michael smiled, his eyes catching on a boy standing to the side in hunters' clothes watching us carefully. Michael waved to him and the boy gasped before waving back. I guess he knew him.

"What will happen to them?" I questioned turning to my mother.

"The hunters will probably question them; Mei and Mikayla especially will be in a lot of trouble." She sighed, "You won't be hearing much of them for a while."

"Good." We all nodded in agreement, I was glad to not have to see either of them. I could understand Mei's pain and anger towards what had happened to us, but what she and Mikayla had done was totally unforgiveable even in the hunter's eyes. Hunter's didn't break treaties it seemed.

"So, are you ready to leave now boys?" My mother questioned, looking around us cautiously.

The four of us exchanged glances, the word seeming foreign. We could leave now? We exchanged excited grins.

"Yes, let's go home." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last chapter to go! ^^  
> As promised though I do have some announcements!  
> Firstly, I am going to be writing a third (and probably final) book in the Moonlight series, it’s going to be called ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’. The bad news is that I don’t think I can realistically start posting it until at least late September or early October. So you will have to wait a little for that.  
> In the meantime, though I’m going to start posting a collection of short stories based on this series. Their basically just short stories & side stories that I wrote while developing the plot for the first two books. Including more of the stuff with Sophie and how certain characters met and such. I have a bunch of them and it seemed like a shame to waste them. Though let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see me write more about.
> 
> I’m also going to be posting another 5sos short story called ‘Run.’, that's completely separate from any of this. I’ll explain more about it when I post it though. 
> 
> As always thank you so much for reading and I’ll see you in the last chapter. :)


	40. We Will Try Again

The drive home had been long and winding, filled with nervousness and anticipation. We'd left early this morning after going back to the hotel last night. The staff there had been a little bemused by our disappearance, but Calum managed to make up a big long excuse for us that they ate right up. My mum had a separate room but Harry had come in with us. We'd ordered Pizza and sat around on the beds to watch a movie. No one dared bring up what had happened that night. Instead we just cracked stupid jokes and just enjoyed the fact that we were alive. Who knew what time we eventually made it to bed, but Harry had fallen asleep on Michael's lap so it was late.

Naturally there had been a sense of relief as Ashton pulled the car into Calum's driveway. I couldn't believe that the nightmare of the past few weeks was finally over. As I looked around at the exhausted faces of my friends I had a feeling we were all feeling the same way. These past few weeks had been rough; fearing the Shadow Wolf, Calum running away, almost losing Michael, losing Emily, Harry going missing and finding out more about the past. But somehow, we'd survived all of that.

We'd dropped Harry home first and we'd had a quick chat with Ashton's mother. There had been a lot of tears, but I think she was just glad to see both her boys home.

I hopped from the car, helping my mother out as she gripped tightly onto my shoulder for support. As she began to stumble, Michael darted in taking the other side. I looked at her swollen ankle, that suggested a sprain or possibly a fracture from last night. Because of the nature of what had happened we couldn't take her to the hospital, and the hunters were so busy dealing with the aftermath that there was no one else to take her to.

Calum had raced ahead of us, flying out the car almost immediately after the ignition had stopped. I could faintly hear him being reunited with his mum and couldn't help but crack a smile.

Ashton hovered nervously behind us as we made it up the front steps awkwardly and through the front doors into Calum's hallway. Little had changed since I'd last been here.

"Just in here." Calum spoke with a smile, poking his head out of the living room.

Michael and I directed mum into the room, where Calum's mother was waiting with a medical kit already set up. The two mothers smiled warmly at one another as we helped my mum to sit down beside her.

"Boys, Pip's up in the spare room with Lewis." Calum's mother spoke turning to the four of us next, her face full of concern. "I think you should go see her."

The four of us exchanged glances, this was the part that we'd been dreading the most. Emily's sacrifice had come at a cost. We'd discussed it at length on the way home but there was still a sense of dread as the four of us climbed up the staircase. How did we tell her what had happened to someone who was basically her second mother? Calum who walked at the front, knocked on the door cautiously.

"Pip? Are you in there?" He asked biting on his lip. The three of us hovered behind him.

The door opened and Pip blinked at us. Her eyes searched behind us, her face falling as the tears began to build in her eyelids.

Pip fell sobbing into Calum's arms, "She's gone, isn't she?"

We nodded, we'd all been so scared to tell her, but I guess she'd already figured it out. My heart broke, it was hard enough thinking we were going to lose a member of our pack last night. Let alone actually losing one, and one that was so important to you. I knew there was little we could say to the small girl that would help, she was so fragile.

"I felt it." She sobbed. "Lewis and I were outside for the full moon. Then I felt the pain as if something was being ripped from my chest. When I realised I couldn't sense her anymore, I just knew she was gone. We ran for miles after that just trying to shake the feeling."

My heart twisted, no one should have to go through that especially when she was still so young. I was grateful that Lewis had been with her though. I could see him sitting awkwardly on her bed watching us intently. He looked pale, there were thick bags under his eyes indicating a lack of sleep. He half smiled at us. I was glad he'd been looking out for her.

"Oh, Pip. I'm so sorry." Calum spoke, he looked as though he was about to cry too.

"Don't be sorry, she was just trying to protect you guys." Pip spoke, in a shaky voice, "I sensed it, right before."

"We know." Calum nodded solemnly. "She was so brave."

We could have stopped her, she was always protecting us. I heard him add in his thoughts. I thought about those words, it was true Emily had always been even from the first day we met her.

"Calum you did what you could." Pip spoke, sounding much older than her age, "Thanks for looking out for her."

Calum nodded silently, though it was clear in his expression that the guilt was still there.

"Though I was wondering can I join your pack?" She asked looking up at Calum, through her tear stained eyes.

That's right she was a lone wolf now. Sure, she was protected by the treaty just as we were, but we all knew how important it was to be in a pack to her. We hadn't exactly thought ahead as to what would happen now. Emily was her main caregiver, and her mother was sick in a hospital miles from here. There was a lot we still needed to figure out.

I could see the hesitation flicker through Calum's eyes. We looked among each other. Pip was so young, sure we cared about her. But we knew the power of our pack now, the strength we each received from Calum and one another. For now, our pack was complete.

He shook his head, "I care about you Pip, but you need to find your own pack or be a lone wolf for a little while. Then we'll talk about it again."

I could see the tears welling in her eyes once more, but she nodded. She gently pulled Calum into a hug. "I understand."

There was a loud cough, and I noticed Lewis was now standing directly behind her. He twirled his fingers anxiously as everyone's eyes fell on him. "Maybe you wouldn't mind joining my pack?" Lewis asked, he looked around behind him, "I mean it doesn't exactly have any other members, but I want to be in a pack with you Pip."

I couldn't help but smile. Calum's mum had said over the phone that the two of them had become close these past few days. He'd been here looking for Calum apparently when they met. I had to admit it seemed like the perfect solution, they were almost the same age and appeared to get on well.

Pip stared at him. "Really?"

Lewis nodded.

Pip nodded quickly, "Well yeah, of course."

Lewis eyes shifted to Calum, "I'm a natural born, so I can become an Alpha on my own right? What do I need to do?"

Calum nodded, seeming a little stunned. A small smile appeared on his lips, "Simple, take each other's hands and I'll tell you what to do."

Pip and Lewis exchanged glances but took their hands in one another's. Calum was silent for a moment, clearly instructing him what to do mentally. It took a moment until their eyes glowed with a fierce golden, they both let out small matching howls. It was a bittersweet moment, but I was glad that Pip had a pack again and with a boy of a similar age. They grinned at one another and Pip gave him an amorous hug.

Within minutes, the two of them who were excitedly discussing what all this meant. Pip was already explaining certain things that Lewis would never have been able to do before without Pip. Calum and Michael exchanged smug glances, and I couldn't help but wonder if that's what they'd been like all those years ago.

With them sorted, we returned downstairs to find Calum's mum was bandaging my mum up. They were already talking like old friends. I could hear them both winging about having teenage sons. Calum and I exchanged glances pulling a face.

"We can hear you, you know." I laughed as we entered the room.

Both women laughed, seemingly amused by Calum and my expression.

"Anyway, need us to do or get anything?" I spoke, feeling unhelpful. Calum's mother had done so much for us lately, and I felt as though we had done barely anything for her.

"Thanks but I'm fine, Luke." Calum's mother smiled warmly at me. "You boys go."

Calum hesitated for a moment, and our mothers shook their heads.

"Want to head down to the Den?" Michael asked, "I think we have a game that needs finishing."

"Oh, in that case you are so going down Clifford." Ashton grinned.

"I don't know Mikey, you haven't been playing for a few days, you might be out of practice." Calum teased.

"Yeah, maybe I might even beat you?" I smiled at him.

"No way guys. I'm definitely not letting that happen," Michael shook his head. "Anyway, come on let's go."

"Have fun boys." The two mothers called after us as we left.

I followed the others down to the Den, there was still evidence of the fire from a few weeks ago. Calum raised an eyebrow at it seeming to know we hadn't had one before he left. He sniffed the air, scanning the area uncertainly.

"Mei was here?" He questioned, picking up her scent.

"Uh, yeah, that kind of happened while you were away." Ashton spoke, the three of us exchanging awkward glances. To think for even a moment we'd trusted her when she was really the Shadow Wolf, all the set ups she must've made. Escpecially that night. I was glad she'd revealed her true colours or she might have tricked us earlier.

"I missed a lot, didn't I?" Calum shook his head.

"You did." I nodded.

"In any case it feels good to be back, and with everyone." Michael grinned, his eyes falling on Calum. Ashton nodded beside him.

My eyes lingered on the charred white marking of the fire. So much had happened since then, Mei, losing Emily. Though despite everything the one that was affecting me the most was my mother.

"What's wrong Luke?" Calum frowned, stopping right before the den's entrance as Ashton and Michael raced inside. I could see him judging me cautiously.

"It seems so strange her being here, joking with my mum, and her acknowledging my existence, after everything that happened."

"You don't have to decide right away Luke." Calum spoke, "You still need time to heal. You both do. When the times right you'll work out what you need to do."

"I know but"

"Come on, do you honestly think we should let Michael hog the game?" Calum smirked.

I sighed, Calum was right. We'd only just gotten back. There was still plenty of time to think about it. I grinned back at him, following him inside the den where Ashton and Michael were waiting for the two of us. I couldn't help but smile, it was good to be home.

*********

Four months on

It was Christmas and Calum's backyard was incredibly crowded that summers day, nearly everyone had been invited. Pip's mum had been well enough to come and visit, which had delighted her even more. Pip had been living at Kaylee and Lewis's place these past few months, their parents quickly taking to the young girl when they found out what had happened.

The younger ones, Harry, Lauren, Pip and Lewis had taken over one end of the yard, playing a game of UNO that one of them had received for Christmas. Although not all werewolves the four of them had become like a small pack hanging around together on weekends. They were all around a similar age, so it made sense.

The doorbell rang again.

"Luke can you get that?" Calum called as he walked past with a tray of food. I nodded, heading inside. I couldn't help but grin as I opened the door to both my parents.

"Mum! Dad" I smiled, glad that they were here too.

I hadn't moved back into our place, opting for moving around still. Yet our relationship had improved tremendously. I think especially after seeing and hearing what hunters like Mikayla had done, werewolves weren't the worst people to my mother anymore and that had spread to my dad and brother as well. For that I was glad.

The hunters themselves had changed a lot since then. Surprisingly we were working with them now, helping them to use their skills to help werewolves who were dangerous rather than harming them. My mother was at the forefront of that. Those that had been involved with Mei's schemes had been removed and there was a full investigation into what had happened to people like Michael and myself.

I lead them through, quickly greeting everyone else's' parents as they headed out to the backyard. Leaving them, I grabbed a drink from the table and moved out on the back porch taking a sip from my drink.

"Mind if I join you?" A voice asked.

I turned to find Kaylee standing there. "Not at all." I smiled, moving over so she could sit next to me. Things had been kind of weird between Kaylee and me. We hung out sometimes on the weekend. I wasn't too sure whether you'd call it dating? But we were friends, especially with how Calum had become a mentor to his brother these past few months.

Kaylee smiled, "I'm glad to see you got your parents back."

"Yeah, me too." I agreed.

We talked for a while then I heard the door slide open once more, and I turned to see Georgia emerged with her parents. Kaylee and I waved to her and Calum was quickly at the doorway, a grin on his face.

Georgia blushed, "Sorry, I'm late, Cal. We got caught in traffic and-"

He grinned. "It's okay, I'm just glad you could make it."

That was one of the best things that had happened these past few months. Georgia had seemed to change her mind about Calum not long after we made it back to school. I guess her fears had shrunk down to almost nothing. They didn't call themselves a couple or anything like it but they were always going out like picnics and hikes together. This time with a little less werewolves. At least now they both joked about that night. I was still hoping they became official but for now at least they were close friends.

I looked over to see Michael and Ashton had both joined the kids game of UNO, both staring at them with bemused expressions as the kids taught them how to play. I watched as Michael's face turned to horror as he had to pick up a pile of cards, the group of kids cracking up at him.

I smiled, I certainly couldn't have imagined half of this a few months ago.

Kaylee and I talked for a little while longer, the rich scent of Christmas lunch beginning to waft through the kitchen window.

'Guys, meet me out at the den.' Calum spoke through the bond, I saw him standing on the other side of the backyard his eyes flickering to us.

"Calum's calling us." I told Kaylee.

"It's okay, I understand, go." Kaylee grinned. "I'll go talk to Georgia."

I nodded at her gratefully as I crossed the backyard to the gate that led out to the forest. The hot summer sun beat down on us, as I met with the others. We exchanged confused glances wondering exactly what Calum would be dragging us all the way out here and away from the celebrations for.

When we finally arrived at the den Calum shuffled around in the cupboards, producing four identical pouches tied with red ribbon. He handed one out to each of us, keeping the final one for himself.

He nodded to us and I opened mine up my eyes falling on the black banded bracelet, with a small wolf charm engraved with golden hanging from it. It looked more professional than the wooden one I'd been given earlier in the year. I looked around noticing the others each had identical ones.

"I thought after everything that happened we needed new ones. Michael's looked like it was about to break, so I thought we should all get new ones." Calum smiled. Michael looked down at his, where it looked as though there really was only a single string of wool holding it all together, he nodded, "Besides I'm better at making these now. So Merry Christmas guys."

"Thanks Cal." We chorused.

I took off the old woollen one that Calum had first given me when I joined the pack, replacing it with the new one. I couldn't help but smile thinking that this was kind of like a new beginning. The bracelets all seemed to match more now, as they'd been made at the same time rather than over the years.

"Darn, makes me wish I thought of doing cool gifts this year." Michael laughed.

Calum had quickly shaken his head explaining he didn't want anything in return. He'd just simply been thinking of it for a while and it had just happened to be Christmas.

"So, it's nearly the end of the year huh?" Ashton smiled, "it's been pretty crazy hasn't it?"

"I can't believe we even made it through this year to be honest." Calum sighed, "Between other werewolves, Hunters and Shadow Wolves we've been pretty lucky."

"And we got a Luke this year too." Michael smiled, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

We all laughed at that.

Though honsestly I was just glad to be here as well.

Occasionally I'll meet them again in my dreams, the golden eyes that used to haunt me long ago. I'll be standing in the rain, just as I did in those vivid dreams. Then they appear, their golden light transcending the darkness around them. They protest and howl at my presence. I look beside me, as three wolves flank me on either side. As I howl back they seem to realise that I speak their language. Their howls die down, realising we are one and the same.

Though other days I can feel the weight of the shadows that I took on that night, the price that I paid trying to protect Michael. I know Michael still senses it too, we shared the same fate that night after all. It helps not to be alone in it though, whenever we sense it growing in the other, it only takes a little bit of effort to find Calum and Ashton, and in turn we'll plan something fun. A trip to the movies, the game centre or even just the forest.Soon the shadows that lurk deep in both our minds quickly fade away. Almost to the point that one could forget that they were there in the first place. I know that is the true strength and power of this pack, more so than any special label or title given to us by the other wolves.

I just hope their isn't a day where I'm forced to deal with those shadows on my own.

As we head back up towards the party, with our new bracelets. I can't help but think that maybe this time we might have the chance to be happy, even if only for a little while.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this book is over now! Though as I mentioned last chapter there's still plenty of adventures to come, I'm going to be posting the first part of Moonlight Short Stories quite soon so please give me a follow and save the moonlight series if you'd like to read it. Tomorrow Never Dies will be coming soon as well. ^^
> 
> I also want to give a special shout out among everyone whose read this to @lionflight on Wattpad and SPNxPhantasy over on Ao3 for their support and comments that helped inspired me to keep writing so thank you. ^^  
> Thank you so much for reading and hopefully you'll join me on the boys next adventures! ^^


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